In the End
by Sunnieveaa
Summary: chapters 1-40:When it comes to her feelings, will Kim go with her heart or will she pray to rekindle what was in her past. Ch. 41-?: The members of the 55 must pull together when one of their own goes bad.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. Those that aren't on The show I created to help fill in. This story is strictly for personal Enjoyment and not for profit.  
  
Author's Note: This is my first shot at writing a fan fic so please give me feed back And let me know what I can do to improve.  
  
As the sunlight began to breakthrough the mini-blinds of her room, Kim slowly slipped out of bed trying not to disturb her sleeping ex-husband. She quietly slipped into the bathroom and shut the door and began to run water for her morning shower. The sound of running water awakened her ex-husband in the next room who glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. As he began to slip back into the clothes he had worn over the night before, Kim walked out of the bathroom with her blonde hair up in a towel in a tank top and a pair of boxers.  
  
"Good morning," she said as he tried to pull her back down into bed. After placing a gentle kiss on his lips, she said "You probably will want to be home when your fiancé calls."  
  
"I know but after last night I'm starting to have second thoughts. Because if there is any hope of us getting back together, I'd leave her in a heartbeat for you," Jimmy said.  
  
"I know you would, but after you cheated on me when we were married how could I trust you not to do it again?" she replied softly.  
  
"I understand where you are coming from, but I honestly had no intentions on that happening," he replied sadly.  
  
"If it had been with someone I didn't know, that would have been one thing, but when its with family, that really hurts," she replied staring out the window looking at the New York skyline.  
  
After slipping back into his jeans, he made his way across the room and slid his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head.  
  
"You don't know how much I miss us being a real family" he whispered into her ear.  
  
"I know, I miss us being a family too," she replied quietly.  
  
"Come into the kitchen and I'll fix you some breakfast before you head back to your place and wait for Brooke to call," she said slipping free of the snare his arms had become.  
  
"Ok," he replied. "How bout eggs and sausage? Our traditional weekend breakfast," he said with a grin.  
  
"Coming right up, still like your eggs scrambled?" she asked.  
  
"Absolutely," he replied as he got dressed.  
  
After Jimmy had eaten breakfast he peeked in on his sleeping son, gave his ex-wife one final kiss and headed back to his apartment. After he had left Kim went and straightened up her room before waking up her son for breakfast. Quietly she slipped into his room and sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Time to get up," she called to her son.  
  
As he rolled over and looked up at his mother, he began to smile up at her.  
  
"What do you want for breakfast?" she asked her son, smiling down at him.  
  
"Could you fix me chocolate chip pancakes?" the little boy said eagerly.  
  
"I most certainly can, you straighten up your room and make your bed and breakfast should be ready in a few minutes." she replied to her son.  
  
"Thanks mom," her son said as he engulfed his mother in a bear hug.  
  
Twenty minutes later Joey emerged from his room already dressed and slipped into his chair in the kitchen as his mother sat a plate of four chocolate chip pancakes, two pieces of sausage and a slice of toast in front of her son who had already begun drinking the glass of orange juice his mother had fixed for him. While her son ate, Kim headed back into her room to start getting ready for work. After packing clothes to change into after her shift, she sat her bag down by the door and turned to her son and said "Are you ready to go see grandma?".  
  
"Yeah!" the little boy exclaimed. 


	2. The Call

Kim zipped up her navy blue coat, putting her bag over her shoulder and headed out the door with her son in tow. As they approached her mother's apartment, Kim's cell phone began to ring.  
  
"Joey go on into grandma's and I'll be in as soon as I answer this," she said.  
  
"Ok mommy" little Joey said while knocking on the door of his grandmother's apartment.  
  
Kim glanced at the number flashing on her phone as it rang, she instantly recognized the number and answered it.  
  
"Hello," she said into the phone.  
  
"Hey Kim it's me Bobby," the voice on the other end said.  
  
"Hey Bobby what's up?" she asked.  
  
"Not much, I called to see if by chance you wanted to catch a movie after work."  
  
"Sure I'd love to, anyone else coming with us or is it just the two of us?"  
  
"I'd thought about just the two of us. It would give us a chance to kick back and relax a bit after a hard days work." Bobby said.  
  
"Sounds good to me, what movie did you have in mind and what time so I can arrange for Joey to stay with his grandmother." Kim replied.  
  
"I was thinking of Darkness Falls at 1:30 am if that's ok." Bobby answered in return.  
  
"Sounds good, I'll get some clothes to change into and bring them to work with me," she replied.  
  
"Alright, see you in an hour for work," Bobby said, smiling to himself.  
  
"Chat at ya in a few," Kim replied.  
  
With that they both hung up their phones. Kim entered her mothers apartment and told her of the new plans after work and asked her if it would be ok if Joey stayed over.  
  
"Of course dear, he can stay over tonight, you and Bobby have fun," her mother said.  
  
"Thanks, I really appreciate it," Kim said.  
  
With that Kim got up and went and talked to her son.  
  
"Hey Joey," Kim called to her son.  
  
"Yeah mom," Joey replied while moving towards the sound of his mothers voice.  
  
"How would you like to stay the night with grandma tonight? I know you've been mentioning it and she says its ok, what do you think?" Kim asked her son.  
  
"Yeah!!! I'd love to!!" Joey exclaimed with a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"That's good, I'll stop by and visit you tomorrow morning before I go to work," Kim said, kissing him on the cheek.  
  
"I love you mommy, see you tomorrow." Joey said while giving his mother a hug.  
  
Kim turned to her mother as she headed to get her things and head to work and said, "Thanks again for letting him stay over. If he needs anything out of my apartment feel free to go get whatever he needs."  
  
"No problem dear," her mother replied. "Oh and be careful at work."  
  
"Don't worry, I will" Kim replied with a smile.  
  
With that she headed back to her apartment to get a more appropriate outfit for an evening with Bobby. After selecting a purple sweater, with a pair of hip hugging jeans, she folded them and placed them in her bag and headed off to work. 


	3. Conversation

The day started off a slow one, the firefighters were all crowded around the TV watching the Yankee's and the Braves play at Yankee Stadium. Bobby and Kim were driving around town discussing the events of the previous evening while waiting for a call to come in.  
  
"How was your evening last night?" Kim asked her partner.  
  
"Could have been better," he replied to her with a hint of sadness in his voice.  
  
"Wanna talk about it?" Kim asked.  
  
"Matty is starting to go down hill again," he replied looking out at the city bustling around them. "He was doing so well staying out of trouble and sobering up. I had actually thought he was turning his life around, but it turns out it was all a lie." Bobby said, his voice starting to waiver slightly.  
  
"Oh Bobby, I'm so sorry," Kim replied, taking his left hand into her own.  
  
"As I was heading home last night, I stopped in to visit him at his new job. But when I went in and asked the manager where he was he told me he had quit over a week ago." Bobby said quietly. "When I got home he was heading out of my apartment and when I asked him where he was going, he told me he was heading to work since he had just changed his hours. But he didn't know that is where I had just come from. When I told him that I had just come from there, he knew his cover had been blown."  
  
"Why didn't you call me? I could have come over and we could have talked about this or done something to get this off your mind sooner," Kim replied with genuine concern in her voice.  
  
"I didn't want to bother you and Joey that late at night," he replied. "Anyway," Bobby said, changing the subject. "How was your evening?"  
  
"It was good. Joey and I played some video games for a while, then he wanted to watch a movie but didn't make it half way through it before he fell asleep on the couch. After putting him to bed I had gone in to get ready for bed myself when I heard someone knocking on the door at after one in the morning," she said.  
  
"Who in the hell would be coming over at that hour?" Bobby asked in suprise.  
  
"Give ya three guesses." Kim said.  
  
"Obviously it wasn't me, your mother or your sister so that leaves only one other person." Bobby said rolling his eyes at Kim.  
  
"Exactly." she replied.  
  
"What on earth did Doherty want at that hour?" he asked her.  
  
"At first he came over to tell me he is planning on getting remarried. Then he said there was more and asked if he could come in. I figured I had an idea what he was gonna say but it turns out I was far from what I was thinking." she said.  
  
Just then a call came in over the radio. As Bobby radioed back that they were taking the call, Kim hit the sirens and headed towards the location. 


	4. The Fire

When they arrived they saw a structural fire in an apartment building complex that was ten stories high. The police had already arrived and were keeping the bystanders on the street back and out of danger.  
  
Kim and Bobby grabbed the backboard, stretcher and bags of supplies and headed over to help Doc and Carlos in triage. Within minutes Jimmy and his crew arrived to combat the fire and look for people still trapped inside the building. Jimmy and Alex went in first and started a floor by floor search for anyone who was trapped. Jimmy and Alex took floor three, while Tony and Ian took floor two and Kevin and Mike took floor one. The fire was burning on the seventh floor in one of the apartments and quickly the teams began to search for residents who were trapped in the complex. As the group met up in the stairwell,  
  
Jimmy said,"Tony, you and Ian go on up to four and search, Kevin you and Mike take five and six, Alex and I are going to seven with D.K and Walsh."  
  
With that the group split up and headed to their respective floors. When Alex, Jimmy, D.K, and Walsh reached the seventh floor, they put on their masks and headed in. The hallway was thick with black smoke as Jimmy and Alex began checking the apartments for residents till they reached one where there was a young man who was unconscious from smoke inhalation. Alex felt for a pulse on the young man and finds a faint one on his neck. Luckily the man was small in stature and Alex was able to pick him up.  
  
"Jimmy, you guys keep going, I'll take him down to the medics. Oh and be careful while I'm gone" Alex said.  
  
"Ok." He said back to her as he turned to head back out into the hall.  
  
Alex picked up the young man and headed for the stairs while Jimmy radioed for the medics to be standing by. Doc and Carlos were waiting with a stretcher at the entrance when Alex carried out the unconscious young man. After carefully placing the man on the stretcher, she let Doc and Carlos take over and radioed to Jimmy she was heading back up. He relayed his position to her and within minutes she had rejoined the group.  
  
D.K and Walsh were working on containing the fire in one of the apartments while Alex and Jimmy searched the accessible regions of the apartment for tenants. The floor in the apartment begins to buckle beneath them as the four retreated to the safety of the hallway. As they moved, a piece of the floor fell out from under Alex. She felt the floor fall away from her feet and she screamed to Jimmy as she began falling. In an instant she felt Jimmy grab her arm and keep her from falling into the burning apartment below. Walsh and D.K rushed back in to help Jimmy pull her back through the hole. D.K took Alex's other arm while Walsh grabbed her jacket and the combined effort of the three men brought their fellow partner back to safety.  
  
"Are you ok?" Jimmy asked her once they were in the safety of the hallway.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine just a little shaken up that's all." she replied.  
  
A second hose team had arrived to help them as well as a ladder truck which was focusing a spray of water through the windows. As soon as the fire was out the group headed back outside. The medic's had finished attending to the wounded and Doc and Carlos had taken the unconscious man to the hospital and returned incase there were any other victims. Bobby sat on the back of the rig while Kim kept her eyes focused on the entrance.  
  
"Why do you worry so much about him?" he asked her quizzically.  
  
"I'm just as worried about the others in there with him, especially Alex." she replied back as she poked Bobby in the ribs.  
  
Just then the remaining four firefighters emerged from the building and headed towards the truck.  
  
"See I told you they'd be ok." Bobby said.  
  
"I know. I knew you were right but the worry never goes away until everyone is out and accounted for." she replied.  
  
"Its gotta be the motherly instinct in you." he said with a grin.  
  
"I'm gonna go talk to Alex." Kim said as she headed towards Alex who was already moving in her direction.  
  
"Ok. I'll let ya know if we get a call." Bobby said as he headed around to the front of the rig.  
  
"Hey Alex how did everything go in there?" Kim asked.  
  
"Pretty routine." Alex replied to Kim who had noticed that her friend was shaking a bit.  
  
"Did something happen in there? You're shaking." Kim asked.  
  
"Yeah something happened." she replied as she sat on the edge of the firetruck.  
  
"Tell me what happened." Kim said as she sat beside Alex.  
  
Alex began to recount what happened inside the building as Kim sat and listened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, as Alex finished speaking Kim said,  
  
"Oh my gosh, were you hurt?"  
  
"No, luckily I screamed right as the floor gave way and Jimmy grabbed my arm before I fell through. I'm just a bit shaken up that's all" she replied.  
  
"I can imagine. I'd better head back over to the bus. If you need anything call me on my cell phone, ok?" Kim said as she went to stand up.  
  
"Ok, thanks. I really appreciate it." Alex said as she managed a small smile.  
  
"No problem, that's what friends are for." Kim said as she turned to head back towards the bus.  
  
"What was that all about?" Bobby asked when Kim climbed into the passenger seat of the bus.  
  
"Oh nothing just girl talk." she replied.  
  
"Kim I know you better than that, and judging by your facial expressions during that conversation it was obviously more than girl talk." Bobby said.  
  
"You know me like a book don't you?" Kim replied.  
  
"Absolutely." Bobby replied laughing to himself.  
  
"Alex was telling me how close it came to there being more than one seriously injured person in that fire." Kim said.  
  
"Really? What happened." Bobby asked.  
  
Kim told Bobby what Alex and told her as they headed away from the scene of the structural fire. Bobby sat in silence, soaking in everything Kim has just told him.  
  
"You'd better warn Davis that way if he talks to her and she's still shaken up he won't do something to set her off." Bobby said.  
  
"That's a good idea. I'll give him the heads up next time I see him." Kim replied. 


	5. The Truth

As the day progressed no other major calls came through, just the routine shortness of breath, heart attacks, etc. When it came time for their dinner break Kim and Bobby met up with Doc, Carlos, Sully and Davis for Chinese food. As the break wound down and everyone headed out to their vehicles Kim stopped Ty to let him know what had happened.  
  
"Hey Davis." Kim called out.  
  
"Hey Kim, what's up?" Ty Davis responded.  
  
"Not to much, I thought I'd better give you the heads up about what happened to Alex earlier." Kim told him away from the other four men.  
  
"Oh my god, is she hurt?" Ty said with utmost concern.  
  
"She's fine, just really shaken up that's all." Kim replied.  
  
"What happened to her?" Davis asked.  
  
"Remember the call about the structural fire earlier?" Kim said.  
  
"Yeah, Sully and I were there keeping back bystanders. Ty said.  
  
"Jimmy and Alex were looking for anyone trapped in one of the apartments while D.K and Walsh manned the hoses when the floor began to buckle in the apartment that they were in. The four began to make there way out to the safety of the hallway when Alex stepped on a weakened portion of the floor and almost fell through the hole into the burning apartment below." Kim said.  
  
"What kept her from falling through?" Davis asked.  
  
"When she felt the floor give, she began to scream and Jimmy turned around and grabbed her arm to keep her from falling into the burning apartment below." she replied.  
  
Davis just looked at Kim in disbelief at what he had just learned happened to his girlfriend.  
  
"Just take it easy with her because she's really shaken up about this." Kim said.  
  
"No problem. Thanks for letting me know." Ty said.  
  
Meanwhile back at the firehouse, the guys had gone back to their daily routine and seemed oblivious that one of there own wasn't among them. While the rest of the guys were watching the remainder of the game on TV, Alex sat up on the roof in one of the lounge chairs with her head in her hands, contemplating on how close she came to never seeing Ty again.  
  
"Care for some company?" a voice called from behind her.  
  
"Sure." she said as Jimmy made his way over to where Alex was sitting.  
  
"Here. I figured you could use that seeing has how you haven't had anything to eat or drink since before the shift started." he said as he passed her a bottle of water.  
  
"Thanks." she said as she began to open the bottle.  
  
"Are you really ok after everything that's happened today?" Jimmy asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I'm still a bit shaken, but I just can't believe how close I came to never seeing Ty again. Because if you hadn't been in front of me then its hard to tell what would have happened to me." she said quietly.  
  
"Come back inside and I'll fix you something to eat and then you can talk to Davis." Jimmy said flashing his trademark smile.  
  
"Ok." Alex said grinning, silently laughing to herself.  
  
Jimmy looked over at Alex and said, "What's so funny?"  
  
"Oh, just the thought of you cooking that's all." she said giggling.  
  
"I happen to be a very good cook thank you. Just ask Kim." Jimmy replied laughing, as they headed back through the door.  
  
"I just might have to do that." she replied back, poking Jimmy in the ribs. 


	6. Dinner

Just then Doc, Carlos, Kim and Bobby returned to the station to get ready for the end of their shift. As Kim entered the building Alex caught sight of her and said, "Hey Kim, how well can Jimmy cook?"  
  
"I dunno, normally he won't step foot in a kitchen if I'm around." she replied.  
  
"Oh jeez, now I think I should be scared." Alex said trying to avoid laughing.  
  
"Why is that?" Kim asked, thinking it had to do with what had happened earlier.  
  
"Because he is in the kitchen as we speak cooking me something to eat." Alex replied laughing.  
  
"We'd better go supervise and make sure he's doing ok." Kim said.  
  
At that instant they heard a clatter of pans on the floor in the kitchen and Kim and Alex took off for the kitchen.  
  
"Where are they headed?" Bobby asked one of the firefighters.  
  
"I think Jimmy's trying to cook." the man replied back.  
  
"That's a disaster in the making." Bobby said laughing to himself.  
  
"Tell me about it, we are just waiting for him to catch something on fire." the man said.  
  
"Well at least if he does, you won't have that far to go." Bobby replied.  
  
"You got that right." the firefighter replied laughing.  
  
As the two women entered the kitchen, Jimmy was in the process of picking up pots and pans off the floor.  
  
"Jimmy, I think you better let someone a little more experienced at cooking take over." Kim said laughing.  
  
"Awww, come on I was just getting started." Jimmy said with a grin.  
  
"I think the chief would like to keep this building intact and not having it end up on fire." Kim said laughing along with Alex.  
  
"Oh, alright you take over." Jimmy said as he headed back towards the rest of the guys.  
  
"Hey Alex wanna help make a salad while I start lasagna?" Kim asked.  
  
"Sure." She replied as she gathered things for the salad.  
  
About twenty minutes later fragrant aroma's drifted from the kitchen of the firehouse. A few seconds later Bobby popped his head into the doorway of the kitchen and said, "What do you two think you're doing?"  
  
"Cooking dinner for everyone." Alex and Kim replied in unison.  
  
"What's on the menu for this evening?" Bobby asked the two busily working women.  
  
"Lasagna and a salad." Alex replied chopping up a tomato for the salad.  
  
"Sounds good, and smells good too." Bobby said back to the two women as he disappeared from the doorway.  
  
"What are they fixing in there Bobby?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Believe it or not they are cooking dinner for everyone." Bobby replied.  
  
"What's on the menu?" Jimmy said back to Bobby.  
  
All of a sudden Alex popped in where the guys were gathered and said, "Hey guys, dinner is ready."  
  
"I guess you'll find out when the rest of us do Jimmy." Bobby replied as he walked with the rest of the off duty firefighters and paramedics towards the kitchen.  
  
After everyone had eaten there first serving of food, most of the men went back for seconds. Kim and Alex were busily washing dishes and putting them up in the appropriate cabinets when Bobby walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Dinner was delicious, I think the rest of the guys out there could get used to this." Bobby said smiling.  
  
Kim laughed as Alex just shook her head in amusement.  
  
"As soon as we finish the dishes, I'll go get changed and we'll head out. Ok?" Kim said to Bobby.  
  
"Ok, I'll go ahead and start changing while you two finish up." Bobby replied as he headed towards his locker upstairs.  
  
"And just where are the two of you going tonight?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"The movies." Kim said smiling.  
  
"What's he taking you to see?" Alex replied.  
  
"Darkness Falls." Kim replied as she put up the remaining few dishes.  
  
"I've seen previews for that, it looks really good." Alex said.  
  
"I know, I've wanted to see it after I read a review on it in the paper." Kim replied.  
  
"You go on and change and I'll put up these remaining few dishes." Alex said.  
  
"You sure?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yes I'm sure silly." Alex said as she swatted Kim with the dishtowel she had in her hand.  
  
"Two can play at this game." Kim replied as she picked up the dishtowel she'd just put down and began to swat at Alex.  
  
"Gosh if the guys saw us in here they'd crack up." Alex said laughing to Kim.  
  
"They'd think we probably lost our minds." Kim replied back giggling.  
  
"Yeah. You had better go get changed. I doubt you want to keep Bobby waiting in suspense." Alex said.  
  
"I'll let ya know how things go tomorrow." Kim said as she left the kitchen.  
  
As Kim headed up to her locker, Bobby had just finished changing and was putting his uniform in his bag, when he heard footsteps and turned to see Kim coming up the stairs.  
  
"What were you and Taylor doing down there? I heard the two of you all the way up here." Bobby said laughing.  
  
"Oh just a friendly dish towel fight." Kim said giggling as she opened her locker.  
  
"Who won?" Bobby asked coming up behind her as she got her bag from her locker.  
  
"We quit because we were laughing so hard." she replied back smiling as she turned and headed into the bathroom to change.  
  
A few minutes later, Kim emerged from the bathroom in her street clothes and ran a brush through her long blonde hair as she walked.  
  
"You ready?" Kim called to Bobby who was looking out the window at the opposite end of the room.  
  
After not getting an answer from her partner she sat her bag down and walked up behind him and whispered, "Everything ok?" into his ear.  
  
"Oh, sorry I didn't hear you a second ago, I was thinking about Matty." he said quietly, turning his head to look at her.  
  
"After the movie, you wanna talk about him?" Kim asked, taking her partners hands into her own.  
  
"Sure, if you don't have any other plans." he said.  
  
"Nope, not a problem, Joey's with his grandmother for a sleepover so we can talk as long as you need to." she replied.  
  
"Ok, shall we be off to the movies then?" Bobby asked.  
  
"We shall." Kim replied.  
  
As the two headed back downstairs the guys were still glued to the TV screen and Alex was talking to Ty outside as they left.  
  
"Have fun you two." Alex called to Kim and Bobby.  
  
"Don't worry, we will." Bobby said over his shoulder at Alex.  
  
"Where are those two going?" Ty asked Alex.  
  
"The movies." Alex said back, watching them walk down the sidewalk together hand in hand.  
  
"So he finally got the guts to ask her out eh?" Ty said.  
  
"I guess he did." Alex said.  
  
"Ready to head out?" Ty asked Alex.  
  
"Yes, lets go, its cold out here." she replied poking Ty as she walked. 


	7. Together

As Kim and Bobby sat in the theater waiting for the movie to start, Kim said to Bobby.  
  
"What have you heard about the movie we're about to see?"  
  
"I've just seen some previews for it, you?" Bobby replied.  
  
"Just a review I read in the paper." She replied back looking into her partners deep brown eyes.  
  
Bobby slipped an arm around Kim's waist and gazed into her eyes as he said, "I want to thank you for agreeing to come here with me tonight."  
  
"It was my pleasure." she said, realizing she felt something so strong for the man sitting next to her, something that felt so good, so safe, so secure. Even though she had known him for so long, this feeling had always been there, but now something was fanning the flames as the sensations consumed her mind.  
  
The movie began and the two sat intently as the movie progressed. He felt her tense up during one of the more frightening parts of the movie and pulled her close to him. In almost no time, the movie was over and the two headed back to Bobby's to talk.  
  
As they walked into the apartment, Kim placed her bag by the door while Bobby headed towards one of the back rooms to see if his brother was there. Finding no trace of his brother, he walked back into the living room, he found Kim sitting in one of the chairs looking at pictures sitting on a side table. He walked up behind the chair and put his hands on her shoulders and said, "If you want you can put your bag in my room while I go take a quick shower."  
  
"I just might do that." she said smiling.  
  
As Bobby headed off for a shower, Kim sat in his room at the foot of the bed and pulled her CD player out of her bag to do some heavy-duty contemplation while she was alone. As the sound of music from her CD player filled her head, she laid back onto the bed, thinking of the days events that had transpired and of the ever growing relationship forming between her and Bobby. Thinking back to her conversation with Jimmy earlier that morning, she began to think about giving him a second chance. But still all the pain he had caused her in the past kept entering her conscience. Where as, if she would choose to be with Bobby, he would always be there for her, would never do anything to hurt her, and most of all love her unconditionally. As the thoughts of the two of them together entered her mind, a smile slowly crept across her face.  
  
When Bobby return from taking a shower, he found Kim laying across the foot of his bed, with her CD player resting on her stomach. As he quietly made his way over to where she lay, he gently brushed a strand of her hair back off her face thinking she was asleep. Feeling his touch on her face, she came back to reality and saw him looking down at her.  
  
"I didn't mean to wake you." he said quietly.  
  
"Don't worry, I wasn't asleep just thinking of the events that have transpired so far." She replied.  
  
After putting her CD player back into her bag, she followed Bobby into the living room, taking a seat next to him on the couch.  
  
"Where do you want to start at?" she asked, referring to his brother.  
  
"After I told him about stopping in to see him and finding out everything he had probably told me was a lie, I asked him why he felt he had to lie to me about it." Bobby said after a brief period of silence.  
  
"He told me I'd never understand why he had relapsed, but I had a pretty good idea what the cause was. I figured he'd run into some of his old friends who were always up to no good, and I asked him was that the cause of the relapse. Matty never answered the question because I could tell the signs that he had taken some kind of drug because of his behavior. Eventually he stormed off and I haven't seen him since. I have no clue if he is ok, where he is, or what he could be taking." Bobby said almost ready to breakdown.  
  
As Kim sat and listened as he continued on, she felt tears begin to sting the corners of her eyes as she watched her best friend and partner falling apart before her. She pulled him close and did her best to stay strong as she comforted him the best she could. Seeing him in so much pain was almost unbearable, but she rested her chin on his still damp head as he broke down in her arms. Just then the door of the apartment opened and slammed shut as the figure moved to the back of the apartment and slammed shut the door to one of the back rooms.  
  
"Do you want me to try and talk to him?" Kim asked quietly as she wiped the tears away from her partner's face. He looked up at her and replied, "You can try but I doubt it will do any good."  
  
Bobby sat up and headed towards the bathroom to try and regain his composure, as Kim quietly headed towards the room that Matty had gone into and knocked lightly on the door.  
  
"Matty, can I talk to you for a moment?" she said through the door.  
  
"What for? What do you want?" came an angry voice from the other side; "I know Saint Bobby is putting you up to this."  
  
"No, Bobby is not putting me up to this. He's told me what's been going on and I'd like to try and help you." she said sincerely.  
  
"May I come in?" she asked the agitated young man.  
  
Kim heard footsteps approach the door, just as it opened in front of her the young man headed back to the other side of the room as she slowly entered the room and cracked the door a bit.  
  
"Why are you doing this to your brother? He's helped you through some of the toughest times of your life, not because he was forced to but because he loved you enough to choose to help you in any way he could." she said sitting in a chair close to the door.  
  
"And how do you know all this?" Matty said back sharply as anger welled up inside of him.  
  
"I've been the one supporting him every time you go and hurt him!" Kim shot back.  
  
"You have no idea how much you are hurting him! I am the only one he will talk to about this, and it breaks my heart to hear the hell you are putting him through!" she continued.  
  
"It's none of your or his damn business," Matty snapped back.  
  
"It becomes my damn business when you hurt someone I love!" she replied angrily.  
  
"Love. Is that what you think you feel towards him? Or are you just using him..?" Matty replied almost laughingly.  
  
"You wouldn't know true love if it came up and kicked you in the ass you fool." She replied vehemently; "I could never use Bobby like that, there is no way I could bring myself to that level, unlike you on the other hand."  
  
"Unlike me? Are you implying that I use people?" he replied, his tone making the hair on the back of her neck rise slightly.  
  
"If you can make the same assumption about me and not even know anything about me then yes I am implying that." Kim shot back.  
  
As Kim turned her back to Matty to get ready to leave the room, he stormed over to her and slung her across the room, unleashing all the anger he had pent up inside and aimed it directly at her. Matty got up and shut the door completely, locking it to keep his brother from coming to her aid. As his voice kept rising, Bobby became increasingly worried about Kim's safety. Meanwhile back inside the locked room, Matty slammed Kim into one of the far walls of the room, pinning her arms behind her.  
  
He looked her right in the eye and said, "I could kill you before Bobby even had the chance to save you."  
  
As Kim fought to remain calm, a fiery rage began to build inside her. "Try me." she growled while kneeing him in the groin, shoving her body into his to free her arms. As Matty stumbled backwards, Kim began to make her way to the locked door where she could hear Bobby frantically trying to get in to help her. Just as her hand touched the lock, Matty jerked her around to face him, not realizing Kim had already unlocked the door.  
  
"You stupid bitch, bravery will get you no where." he growled, his fist slamming into the left side of her face.  
  
She staggered back till she fell onto the chair she had been sitting in earlier. As the force of the punch wore off, she got back up noticing Matty wasn't in front of her. As she tried for the door again she felt someone pull her back by her hair, and felt something sharp at her throat. Bobby heard his brother's vicious words and felt his blood run cold with fear. Just then he heard her call out to him, her voice clearly showing the terror she felt.  
  
"Bobby, please help me," she barely croaked, her voice wavering as she felt Matty jerk her head back even further and press the cold steel of the knife harder against her throat.  
  
"Not so valiant now, are you." he scoffed, tracing the knife across her cheek as she began to tremble in his grasp.  
  
As Bobby flung the door open, he felt his heart break at the sight of his beloved partner bruised, battered and being held with a knife at her throat.  
  
"Oh my god what have I gotten her into." he cried to himself, seeing Matty turn his attention from her to glare at him.  
  
"Your little bitch here severely pissed me off," Matty said, half laughing tracing the knife across Kim's neck; "How does it feel to have someone who you love so helpless? You can't do a damn thing about it?"  
  
"Leave her out of this." Bobby said, an icy tone entered his voice. "This is between you and me and you know it."  
  
Bobby could see the fear in Kim's eyes but she did nothing further to provoke her captor.  
  
"She became involved when you told her everything." Matty sneered. "If you want her to live do exactly as I say."  
  
"Ok, whatever just don't hurt her." Bobby replied.  
  
"Move out of the doorway and back into the living room." Matty snapped.  
  
As Bobby began to move, Matty pushed Kim forward and walked out the door, keeping an eye on his brother and one on Kim. As the three entered the living room, Matty said.  
  
"Open the door and step around the couch."  
  
Bobby did what he was told and stepped around to the other side of the couch as Matty backed out into the hallway.  
  
"Let her go Matty." Bobby said, anger filling his entire body as he glared at his brother..  
  
In an instant she felt Matty's free hand shove her forwards into Bobby, but not without giving him a warning. At the same time he shoved her into Bobby he cut across her upper arm, not too deep but deep enough get his point across. Kim cried out as she felt the knife slash across her upper arm as she fell into Bobby's arms.  
  
"Oh my god Kim, what have I gotten you into?" he cried out as he picked her weak body up off the floor, shut the door to his apartment and carried her into the bathroom to look at her arm. As he slipped her sweater off to expose her wounded arm, he began to apply pressure to the wound praying it would stop bleeding on its own. As he waited for the bleeding to subside he traced the bruise forming on the side of her face, muttering a stream of curses in Spanish. 


	8. The Hunt

After about ten minutes, the cut had stopped bleeding and he wrapped a protective bandage over the wound and lifted her from the counter in the bathroom and carried her across the hall where he laid her down on the bed, waiting for her to wake up. As she slept, Bobby went and grabbed his phone and called Bosco, one of the cops at the 55. Bobby waited and waited for an answer and let out a heavy sigh. Just as he was about ready to hang up, Bosco answered.

"Who the hell is this calling me at five in the morning?"

"Bosco, its me Bobby. I'm sorry to wake you but I desperately need your help." he said as his voice began to falter.

"Oh God this must be serious." Bosco thought, hearing the panic in Bobby's voice.

"What's wrong Bobby?" Bosco asked.

"I need you to find my brother and lock him up after what he did to Kim." Bobby replied as anger began to course through his veins as he relived what had happened earlier.

"What did he do?"

"He beat the hell out of her and held her captive with a knife at her throat and said if I didn't let him out of the apartment she would die. When he left, he slashed her upper arm with the knife and shoved her into me and ran" He replied, trying to keep his anger in check.

"How is she now?" Bosco replied as fury filled his body.

"She's unconscious, the pain from her arm as she slammed into me knocked her out. The bleeding has stopped, so I'm just waiting for her to wake up." Bobby replied in a lighter tone.

"Stay with her. I'll call Faith and we'll be over shortly." Bosco said.

As Bosco hung up with Bobby, he quickly got dressed and headed for his car and dialed Faith's number.

"Hello?" came a groggy voice on the other end.

"I'm gonna kill that jag-off son of a.." Bosco started to spew into the phone.

"Hold up, Bos what's wrong?" Faith replied anxiously.

"Bobby just called. His brother beat Kim for trying to help sort out things between them." Bosco said gripping the steering wheel of his car with an iron eagle grip.

"Get dressed Faith I'm coming to get you so we can go to Bobby's." he said as he hung up the phone.

Luckily Fred and the kids were out of town and she was home alone. About the same time as Faith finished dressing, she heard Bosco banging on her door. Faith grabbed her purse and keys and stepped out the door, locking it behind her.

"Lets go." she said as they ran for Bos' car.

After getting in the car and heading towards Bobby's apartment, Bosco said, "Faith call Bobby and tell him we are on our way."

In what seemed like a matter of minutes, they arrived at Bobby's apartment complex and were on the elevator to his apartment. As Bobby waited, he sat next to Kim, praying that she would wake up. He checked her arm to see if it had still stopped bleeding when he heard someone pounding on his door. Bobby ran to the door and let Faith and Bosco in.

"Where is she?" Faith asked.

"Follow me." Bobby said as he walked quickly with the two officers in tow.

"Oh dear god." Faith said as she saw the unconscious form of her friend covered in bruises and a large bandage on her arm.

"Can we see her arm?" Bosco asked.

"Yeah. Faith hold her arm out while I undo the bandage." Bobby said as he quickly unwrapped the gauze bandage and removed the folded four by fours.

Faith and Bosco felt rage building inside them as they looked at the wound on her arm.

"Please find my brother and lock him up. He has to pay for what he did to her." Bobby said as an icy tone entered his voice.

"Do you have a recent picture of your brother?" Faith asked.

"Yeah, come with me into the living room and I'll get it for you." Bobby said.

As Faith followed Bobby, Bosco sat by Kim and whispered into her ear.

"He will pay for what he did to you Kim. You have my word."

As Faith and Bosco headed to the 55, Bobby returned once again to Kim's side and knelt by her while praying. Several minutes later, he heard her moan from the pain in her arm.

"Kim, can you hear me." Bobby asked.

"Yeah, what happened to me?" she said as she winced when she tried to move her arm.

"Matty beat you when you tried to talk to him and held you hostage at knife point. Before he left, he slashed your arm before shoving you into me and fleeing." he said no longer able to hold back tears of guilt.

"It's ok Bobby, don't cry." she said as she tried to sit up a bit.

"If I hadn't let you try and talk to him, none of this would have happened." he managed to say.

"Bobby. Look at me." She said softly as he lifted his head and looked into her eyes.

"I could never blame you for what happened. You are nothing like your brother," she said holding his face in her hands as she looked into his pain-filled brown eyes.

"We have known each other for so long, I could never hold you responsible. I know you tried to get to me. you will always be my hero Bobby, always," she said as she wiped away his tears with her hands.

"Still if I.." Bobby started to say as Kim cut him off by gently kissing his lips.

"Hush. You need some sleep. Stay in here with me." she said as she moved over making room for him.

As he slipped into bed beside her, he buried his face in her long blonde hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her next to him and said, "Kim, if I would have lost you, I don't know what I'd do."

"You'll never loose me Bobby. I love you too much to ever leave you," she said lovingly.

"I love you more than anyone I've ever been with. I want to be with you forever." he said as his body succumbed to the exhaustion of the events of earlier.

Several hours later, Kim awoke to find Bobby still asleep next to her. He felt her touch his tear-streaked face and opened his eyes to find her smiling down at him.

"Good morning." she said quietly.

Bobby sat up beside her and gently brought his mouth to hers and kissed her.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"The pain in my arm is less intense than what it was earlier, but other than that I'm just sore and weak." she replied.

"That's a relief," he said as he ran a hand through her hair.

Just then the phone rang and Bobby answered it.

"Hello," he said into the phone.

"Hey its Faith, how are you and Kim holding up?" she asked.

"I feel much better after some much needed sleep. Kim just woke up again." he replied to Faith.

"Could I talk to her?" Faith asked.

"Sure, let me pass her the phone." Bobby replied as he handed her the phone.

"Hi Faith, how are you?" Kim said.

"God its good to hear your voice. After seeing the state you were in, you really had us worried." Faith replied to her friend.

"Its good to be back." Kim said as she looked over at Bobby.

"Let me talk to Bobby again." Faith said as Bosco came over to her.

"Any news yet?" Bobby asked after Kim handed the phone back to him.

"Not yet, we are looking everywhere. We've already copied in the Serg and this should take top priority in roll call." Faith said.

"That's a relief because the sooner he is off the streets the more comfortable I'll be." Bobby said.

"That's understandable. I gotta run, Bos and I will stop by later and check up on you two." Faith replied.

"That's cool, because we aren't going anywhere." Bobby said.

"Talk to you later." Faith responded.

"Bye." he replied as he turned off the phone.

Bobby put the phone back down and looked at Kim and said, "I'll go fix us some breakfast, then I'll help you into the bathroom so you can clean up and re-bandage your arm."

"While you take care of breakfast I'm going to call mom and check on Joey." Kim said reaching for the phone.

"Sounds good." he said before he kissed her on the forehead before heading in to fix breakfast.


	9. Recovery

Kim dialed her mother's number and waited for an answer. A few minutes later someone picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello." Came a child's voice over the phone.  
  
"Hey Joey. How is the sleepover?" Kim asked her son.  
  
"Mommy! Can I please stay over again? I'm having a lot of fun." he replied joyfully.  
  
"Let me talk to grandma, is she around?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll go take her the phone." Joey said to his mother.  
  
A few minutes later Kim was talking to her mother on the phone.  
  
"Do you think Joey could stay over another night with you?" she asked her mother.  
  
"Sure, I don't mind. He's having a ball as it is." her mother replied.  
  
"How did you evening go last night?" her mother asked.  
  
"The movie and everything was amazing. Then afterwards we came back to his place to talk about his brother, when things started to go downhill." Kim said quietly.  
  
"What went wrong?" her mother asked nervously.  
  
"As we talked, he had so much pain inside he just about had a nervous breakdown, so I asked if he thought it would help if I talked to him." Kim began to say; "I insisted that it might work and right about that time his brother stormed in and went into one of the back rooms. As Bobby went to try and regain his composure, I went and tried to talk to his brother, but my plan completely backfired." she said quietly.  
  
"What happened with his brother?" her mother said softly, fearing about what she was going to hear.  
  
"At first it seemed like it might actually work, trying to talk to him. Then all of a sudden he turned on me. We exchanged a few heated words and then he just snapped." Kim replied.  
  
As Kim's mother listened to what her daughter had endured at the hands of Bobby's brother, she felt tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"How bad are you hurt?" Kim's mother asked after her daughter had finished speaking.  
  
"A lot of bruises from where he hit me, and a knife wound on my upper arm. Not to mention being very sore and weak." she replied.  
  
"That's why I need Joey to stay with you tonight and I'll see if Jimmy can take him till the bruises are gone." Kim continued.  
  
"Good idea, do you want me to see if Jimmy can watch him for a bit and bring you some clean clothes and stuff?" her mother asked.  
  
"If you could, that would be great." Kim replied.  
  
"What do you want me to bring you?" her mother asked as she grabbed a notepad and ink pen and wrote down what her daughter needed.  
  
Kim's mother began to read back the list of items Kim had asked for to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Just then Bobby walked back into the bedroom carrying a tray containing an omelet, glass of orange juice, a piece of toast, a peeled and sliced apple and some grapes.  
  
"I should be over after I talk to Jimmy," her mother said.  
  
"Ok, but don't tell him what happened, I'll do that later." Kim replied.  
  
"No problem. I'll be over shortly," her mother said before she hung up the phone.  
  
"Ok, see you in a few." Kim replied as she turned off the phone.  
  
Kim looked over at Bobby who had just walked back into the room and said, "How did you know that I liked omelets?"  
  
"Just a lucky guess." he said, his brown eyes sparkling.  
  
"My mom is bringing me some stuff from my apartment since I know you aren't going to let me leave." she said smiling as he sat down beside her.  
  
"You got that right." he replied as he fed her a grape.  
  
As Kim's mother looked over the list of items her daughter had asked for, she turned to her grandson and said, "Hey Joey, will you be good while I run out to the car for a moment?"  
  
"Yeah nana, I'll be fine. Just don't take to long." her grandson replied.  
  
"I'll have my keys so if anyone knocks on the door, don't answer it. Ok?" she replied.  
  
"Ok nana, hurry back." Joey told her.  
  
Kim's mother headed out the door and locked it and ran up several flights of stairs to Kim's apartment. She unlocked the door to her daughter's apartment and headed for the closet to get a duffel bag and systematically began to gather the things her daughter requested. She zipped up the bag and headed to the door and relocked it and went to put the bag in the trunk of her car. After picking up some things in the car to take back inside, she dashed back up to her apartment. As she walked back into her apartment, she quickly locked the door behind her and headed in the direction of her grandson.  
  
"Joey honey, I'm back." She called, finding her grandson still playing video games.  
  
"How would you like to go visit your dad?" she asked.  
  
"Really, can we?" her grandson exclaimed.  
  
"Let me call and see if its ok with him." she replied as she headed for the phone to call Jimmy.  
  
As she walked into the next room, she picked up the phone and dialed the number to Jimmy's place, praying that he was home. Several rings later, she heard his voice on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Hello Jimmy, how are you this morning?" Kim's mother said.  
  
"I'm fine and you?" he replied back. Trying to figure out why Kim's mother had called him.  
  
"Pretty good, I was wondering if I could bring Joey by for a little bit. I need to run a few errands and he wants to stay and play video games and come by and visit you." Kim's mother said.  
  
"Sure. I'd be glad to watch him. How long will you be gone?" Jimmy replied.  
  
"No longer than an hour." She replied.  
  
"Sounds good. Oh by the way have you talked to Kim lately? I've been trying to get a hold of her all morning." Jimmy said full of concern.  
  
"No, I haven't. Maybe she went out on a morning run or something." Kim's mother replied.  
  
"You're probably right," he said back.  
  
"I'll be over in a few minutes to drop of Joey." Kim's mother replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll be here." Jimmy said as he hung up the phone.  
  
As Kim's mother headed back into the room where her grandson sat playing video games, she said "Hey Joey, your dad said you could come over for an hour before he has to get ready for work."  
  
"Get your coat on and we'll head over." she said as she made sure everything was turned off.  
  
As she gathered her things, she and Joey headed out to her car, where they headed over to Jimmy's place. Within a matter of minutes, Kim's mother spotted Jimmy waiting outside for them.  
  
"Hey champ, how are ya today?" Jimmy asked his son who was already running full tilt into his fathers waiting arms.  
  
"Really good!" the little boy exclaimed with a huge smile on his face.  
  
"I'll be back in an hour to pick him up so you can get ready for work." Kim's mother said to Jimmy before getting back into her car.  
  
Jimmy and Joey both waved goodbye to her and she waved back as she headed for Bobby's to see her daughter.  
  
As Bobby took the breakfast dishes back to the kitchen, he called the chief to let him know that he and Kim wouldn't be in for work after what had happened the previous night. The chief told Bobby he could take some time off to spend with Kim to help her recuperate. Just then Bobby heard a knock at his door. He finished up talking to the chief and headed over to see who it was. When he saw Kim's mother on the other side of the door, he quickly let her in and relocked the door.  
  
"Where is Kim?" her mother asked quietly, still holding the bag her daughter had asked her to bring.  
  
"She's resting in the bedroom on the right. Could you stay with her for a bit while I go check on getting the lock on the door replaced?" he asked.  
  
"I'd be glad to. Jimmy thinks I'm out running errands for an hour so take your time." she said.  
  
"Ok. I should be back in about ten minutes. Oh, and Bosco and Faith are gonna stop by so if they come by while I'm gone feel free to let them in."  
  
"Not a problem." Kim's mother said as she headed towards the room Kim was resting in.  
  
After locking the door securely behind him, he set out to find someone who could change the lock on the door that afternoon. Kim's mother slipped quietly into the room where her daughter was resting. She could hardly believe she was looking at her daughter all covered in bruises. As she placed the bag at the foot of the bed, she said "Kim, I brought the stuff you asked me to."  
  
"Thank you." Kim replied quietly as she repositioned herself in bed.  
  
"How are you feeling?" her mother asked.  
  
"A bit better, but I've still got pain in my arm and I'm really sore and weak. I just feel so bad for Bobby, because he is blaming himself for what happened to me." Kim replied softly.  
  
"When I called Jimmy to see if he could watch Joey, he told me he had been trying to get a hold of you all morning so you should probably call him whenever you can." she told her daughter.  
  
"I'll call him after you go pick up Joey, because I know his reaction isn't going to be very pleasant." she replied.  
  
"That's a good idea. He doesn't need to see his father on a rampage." she said in agreement with her daughter.  
  
Just then there was a knock at the door of Bobby's apartment.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I see who that is." her mother replied as she got up to head to the door.  
  
Seeing Faith and Bosco on the other side of the door, she let the two officers in.  
  
"Hi Mrs. Zambrano, how is Kim doing?" Faith asked.  
  
"Come on in and you can talk to her for a bit." she replied to the two officers.  
  
After relocking the door, she led the two officers into Bobby's room where her daughter was. 


	10. Together again

"Hey you two." Kim said smiling at her two friends.  
  
Both Faith and Bosco sat on the edge of the bed talking to her, Kim's mother headed off and looked into the room where the altercation between Matty and Kim took place. Fifteen minutes later there was another knock at the front door. Kim's mother dashed to the door to see who it was, after seeing Bobby on the other side of the door, she undid the locks and welcomed him back.  
  
"I'd better get going since I have to go pick up Joey, call me if you need anything." she said as Bobby hung up his jacket.  
  
"Sure thing, thanks for coming by." he said smiling as she left.  
  
As he refastened the locks on the door after Kim's mother had left, he headed back to his room where he found Kim, Faith and Bosco all talking and laughing.  
  
"You all having fun in there?" he asked as he popped his head in the door of his room.  
  
"You know it Caffey." Bosco replied; "Why don't you join in on the conversation?"  
  
"I just might do that," he said as he entered the room and sat down next to Bosco on the bed.  
  
"What have I missed so far?" he said laughing.  
  
"Not much, we were just getting started." Kim said smiling.  
  
Just then Faith and Bosco's radio's came to life relaying a crime in progress near where they were.  
  
"It looks like we'll have to finish this later." Bosco said.  
  
"No problem. Feel free to stop by whenever you can." Bobby said as he followed the two officers to the door.  
  
As he returned to Kim's side, he found her going through the bag of stuff her mother had brought her. When he walked into the room, Kim looked up at him and said, "How are you holding up after last night?"  
  
"I'm coping with it better now that I know you're gonna be ok. But I still feel responsible for what happened." he replied as he sat down beside her.  
  
"And every time you say that, I'm gonna say the exact same thing I told you earlier." she said stroking his cheek with her hand.  
  
"Why don't you refresh my memory on what was said earlier." he said.  
  
"Ok, before you fell asleep from exhaustion I said." Kim began to say;  
  
"I could never blame you for what happened. You are nothing like your brother; we have known each other for so long, I could never hold you responsible. I know you tried to get to me. You will always be my hero Bobby, always," she said as she gazed into his beautiful brown eyes.  
  
"If it wasn't for you, then I probably wouldn't be here with you right now." she said after a brief amount of silence.  
  
"What do you mean?" he said as he gently pulled her towards him.  
  
"Before Matty held the knife to my throat, he told me in a very taunting voice that he could have easily killed me, and that you would have been powerless to stop him." she said softly.  
  
Reliving what had happened earlier brought tears to her eyes, as Bobby held her close, giving her a sense of secureness.  
  
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that." He said quietly, as he traced the bruise that consumed most of the left side of her face.  
  
"Lemme take a look at your arm and I'll help you into the bathroom." he said as he began to undo the bandage on her arm.  
  
As she carried her clothes that she would be wearing for the rest of the day, as well as some shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc, Bobby slipped an arm around her waist to help support her as she got up for the first time since she had regained consciousness. The two of them slowly made their way to the bathroom as Bobby said; "If you need anything just let me know." As Bobby shut the bathroom door, Kim began to run the water for her shower after she placed her clothes on the counter and put her shampoo, conditioner and shower gel inside the shower. Once the water was ready she slowly removed the rest of her clothes and stepped into the shower. The hot water did wonders on her tense muscles, while the shampoo and conditioner killed her injured arm. In a matter of minutes she turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her bruised body and prepared to get dressed. After donning a pair of burgundy sweat pants and matching spaghetti strapped top she began to towel dry her hair and got ready to comb out the tangles in her hair and blow dry it.  
  
Minutes later she emerged from the bathroom and slowly headed back to Bobby's room to put away the clothes she had just taken off and put them in her bag. As Bobby sat on the couch, unaware of Kim slowly heading in his direction he flipped open a small box containing a gold necklace with a pendant of an angel. As he held it in the palm of his hand, his thoughts drifted back to her. She had always been there for him, no matter what it was she had never let him down. Just then he heard a movement in the hallway and looked over to see her slowly making her way towards him.  
  
"Do you need any help?" he asked as he prepared to stand up.  
  
"No, I'm fine." She replied as she reached the edge of the sofa.  
  
"I've got something I want to give you," he said as she sat down beside him.  
  
He reached over to the coffee table and picked up the necklace he had put down.  
  
"I am so blessed to have met you your first day at the 55. We've been through so much the past several years and I've grown incredibly attracted to you. Not just as a best friend and partner, but as the one that I would like to spend the rest of my life with. If its ok with you I'd like you to be my girlfriend so we can build a relationship together that could possibly one day lead to marriage." he started to say.  
  
"If your asking me to be your 'official' girlfriend, I most gladly accept your invitation." she said smiling as she brought her mouth to his and kissed him.  
  
When the kiss ended he fastened the necklace around her neck and pulled her close to him. For several minutes they lay in each other's embrace, wondering silently what their future together would hold.  
  
"I need to run and pick up some things up and double check about getting the lock replaced since Matty has a key to the existing lock, will you be ok alone for a few minutes?" he asked.  
  
"Sure, I'll be fine. If something happens I'll call your cell." she replied not wanting to leave the comfort of his embrace.  
  
They both got up and walked to the door of the apartment and kissed long and hard.  
  
"God I hate leaving her," Bobby said to himself as he pulled the door behind him.  
  
After Bobby left, Kim headed for his room to make several calls. 


	11. The News

First she needed to call Jimmy. As she picked up the phone, she laid across the bed after dialing his cell number.  
  
"Hello," came a man's voice on the other end.  
  
"Hey Jimmy, how are you?" she asked.  
  
"I'm good Kim, how bout yourself?" he replied.  
  
"Lets just say I've seen better days at the moment." she responded.  
  
"What time are you leaving for work and I'll wait for you outside the station."  
  
"That's just it, I'll be out for a few days till I recoup. I wanted to tell you myself before you heard it from anyone else." she began to say.  
  
"Uh Kim, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Last night after work, Bobby needed someone to talk to about his brother who is starting to go downhill, so we sat and talked for a long time about his brother. Not to long after we finished his brother stormed through the door and went straight for one of the back rooms." she had started to say.  
  
"What did he do to you?" Jimmy said, his voice full of rage.  
  
"Let me put it this way, I'm covered in bruises, sore as hell and mending an injured arm." she said back.  
  
"And Bobby let this happen to you!" he said in an icy tone.  
  
"No, he was forced to watch the whole thing!" she shot back angrily.  
  
"What do you mean by 'forced'?" Jimmy said slightly confused.  
  
"His brother had a knife and told Bobby if he tried anything heroic he'd slit my throat. There was nothing he could do," she said softly.  
  
"Kim, I'm so sorry. I didn't know the facts before I blamed him." Jimmy said.  
  
"It's ok. Could Joey stay with you for a few days? He wouldn't understand what happened and it would probably do more harm than good if he saw me in my current condition." she said hesitantly.  
  
"Sure, I'd love to have him stay over for a while." he replied.  
  
"When I can, I'd like to come by and see you sometime today and make sure you're ok." he said.  
  
"That's fine, but I'm still at Bobby's because I was unconscious most of the night and I just came to about five hours ago." she replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll call you there when I'm able to come visit." he said.  
  
"Sound's good. I've got to go and try and get some rest. I'll see you later when you come over." she replied.  
  
"Alright. Just make sure to take care of yourself and not push yourself too hard." he said back to her.  
  
"Jimmy. Bobby won't hardly let me do anything on my own at the moment so the overexertion thing shouldn't be a problem." she replied amidst a contingent of giggles.  
  
"I bet that's a sight to see, him doing everything for you." Jimmy said laughing.  
  
"Yeah it is. See ya later." she said before she hung up the phone.  
  
"Later." Jimmy said as he turned his cell phone off.  
  
The next person she called was Alex.  
  
As she dialed Alex's cell phone number she sat and waited for her to answer. Alex had started work early and looked down at her ringing cell phone to see who was calling her. As she looked at the number flashing on her phone a perplexed look came across her face as she tried to figure out why Bobby was calling her.  
  
"Hello?" she said as Carlos took one look at her and laughed.  
  
"Hey Alex, its Kim." she replied.  
  
"Where are you?" she asked; "I got worried when you didn't come in early so we could talk."  
  
"I'm still at Bobby's, and I have a really good reason for not working today." She replied back to Alex.  
  
"What happened?" she said as fear began to build up inside her.  
  
"After the movie, Bobby and I came back to his place to talk about the things his brother is getting back into." Kim began to say; "As he began to talk about the hell his brother has been putting him through, he literally broke down in my arms. Not too long after we finished talking, his brother came storming into the apartment. While Bobby tried to regain his composure, I tried to talk to Matty."  
  
"Why do I have a feeling that it backfired." Alex said hesitantly.  
  
"That is a major understatement." she replied quietly; "There for a while I thought it was actually working. Then the next thing I know, we are in a shouting match and I'm pinned against the wall and being told that he could kill me on the spot and Bobby would be powerless to stop him." she replied as her voice began to crack.  
  
Alex covered her phone with her hand and turned to Carlos who was driving and said, "Get me to Bobby's place, NOW!"  
  
"Jeez Taylor don't go postal on me." he said as he headed the bus towards Bobby's apartment.  
  
"Kim, I'm coming over to see you at Bobby's, we'll be there shortly." she said.  
  
"Ok, I'll be waiting for you." Kim replied as she hung up the phone.  
  
Kim slowly sat up in bed and got ready to head into the living room to wait on Alex. Five minutes later there was a knock at the door. As Kim looked on the other side of the door, she found Alex pacing the door. Kim opened the door letting her friend in and turned to lock the door back. She then turned and headed to the sofa where Alex was sitting. Alex sat in disbelief at her friend covered in bruises.  
  
"Matty did this to you and forced Bobby to watch?" Alex said putting her hand on Kim's upper arm, not seeing the bandage.  
  
The slightest pressure on the cut sent bolts of pain through her arm as she winced from the contact.  
  
"What happened to your arm?" Alex asked.  
  
"Matty slashed my arm with a knife as a warning to Bobby." Kim replied shakily.  
  
"Mind if I take a look?" Alex asked softly.  
  
Kim nodded her head in approval as Alex began to undo the bandage Bobby had put on the wound.  
  
"When I get my hands on that little ass, he is going to pay dearly." Alex fumed as she looked at the gash on her friend's arm.  
  
"Step in line. Bobby, myself and everyone at the 55 are gonna do the same thing." Kim replied.  
  
"Where did you get that necklace? It's beautiful!" Alex asked as she looked at the angel necklace around her friend's neck.  
  
"Bobby gave it to me. We are officially dating now." Kim said smiling.  
  
"It's about time he got it together and asked you." Alex said laughing; "I'm really happy you finally found someone you deserve to be with who will probably spoil you rotten." She said as she gave Kim a careful hug; "The two of you are made for each other." Just then there was another knock at the door.  
  
"You sit, I'll get it." Alex said as she headed to the door.  
  
As Alex saw who it was, she opened the door and said, "What do you want Carlos?"  
  
"When can we go eat?" he said sheepishly in a quiet tone.  
  
"I'm in the middle of something important here, food can wait." she replied impatiently.  
  
Quietly Carlos said to Alex, "Why are we even here?"  
  
"I'll show you why," she said icily; "Get in here."  
  
Alex walked back to the sofa and sat next to Kim and picked back up on the conversation they were having before Carlos came to the door. Carlos made his way behind Alex to face Kim and was floored.  
  
"What happened to you?" he asked.  
  
"I'll tell you in the bus Carlos." Alex replied before Kim could answer.  
  
"Well we had better go so you can get some rest. I'll call you later to see how you are doing." she replied before she left.  
  
"Ok." Kim said to Alex as she followed them to the door.  
  
After locking the door when they had left, Kim headed back into Bobby's room to rest. She pulled out her CD player and stretched out in bed, letting the music soothe her weary body. 


	12. Decisions

Minutes later, Bobby returned with flowers for her and placed the vase on the table next to her as she slept. Bobby then went and began to change the lock on the door himself so no other harm could be done to Kim while she stayed with him. In a matter of thirty minutes the new lock was installed and tested. As Kim began to wake up, she smelled the scent of fresh roses. Looking over at the bedside table she found the vase full of a dozen red roses with baby's breath. She removed the card from the arrangement and opened the envelope and read the words written on the card inside. After placing the card back in the arrangement she got up and headed towards Bobby. She quietly snuck-up behind him and put her arms around his mid- section, and gently rested her hands on his stomach.  
  
"I missed you while you were gone." She said softly.  
  
"I missed you too." He said as he turned around to face her.  
  
"Thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful." she said as she rested her head against his chest.  
  
"Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" he asked, gently caressing her back.  
  
"Nope, Alex and Carlos came by to see how I was doing," she said, raising her head off his chest to look up at him.  
  
"Let's go lay down for a bit, I'm starting to get a little tired." He replied with a sly grin on his face.  
  
"Really now? I think I know something that can take care of that," she said, as a seductive smile crossed her face.  
  
"And what might that be?" he replied in amusement.  
  
"This." she said as she put his hands on her hips and pulled his head down to hers and kissed him passionately on the lips.  
  
A fire began to grow inside both of them as there kissing became more intense. Kim slipped her hands under his shirt, feeling his muscles tense up beneath her hands, as he pulled her closer to his body. As he picked her up, she placed an inviting kiss upon his lips as he carried her back to his room. As soon as he put her down, he kissed her deeply in return, his tongue lightly tracing the outline of her upper lip. Her body shivered as his tongue danced across her lips. He gently lowered her onto the bed and began to leave a trail of kisses across her collarbone. She gasped as he began to press firey kisses across her taut stomach. He smiled to himself and looked up at her, feeling the muscles of her abdomen tense up beneath his lips. All that mattered to them was that they were together sharing these intimate moments with each other. As the intensity of there passion grew, both knew nothing could ever come between them. It wasn't long before both of them were asleep in each other's arms, oblivious to the world around them. Bobby was the first to wake up as he glanced over at Kim's sleeping form next to him.  
  
"God this feels so right being with her. Why did I wait so long to ask her out?" he said to himself.  
  
Just then, Kim rolled over and looked at Bobby who was staring at the ceiling in thought. She began to tickle his ribs, which made him jump about a foot in bed.  
  
"Welcome back to reality." She said laughing.  
  
"You think you're sneaky, eh?" he said chuckling.  
  
"What can I say? Joey taught me how to be sneaky very well," she said grinning.  
  
"Did he teach you this one?" Bobby asked as he positioned himself over Kim and began kissing her starting at her lips and ending at her navel. Then all of a sudden he began to tickle her ferociously on both sides, catching her completely off guard. She squealed in shock at being tricked and tried to evade his attacking fingers, but couldn't with the weight of his body on top of hers. All she could do was wait for him to stop since there was no point in trying to fight him.  
  
"I think Joey forgot to mention that one." Kim said once she had regained her breath.  
  
All of a sudden the phone rang.  
  
"Hello." She said as Bobby pulled her on top of him.  
  
"Hey Kim, how are you doing?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"I'm feeling a lot better," she said, biting back from giving Jimmy any hints that she was involved with Bobby.  
  
"Would it be ok if I came over to see how you're doing?" he asked.  
  
Bobby was close enough to hear the question and nodded his head in approval.  
  
"Sure you can come visit," she said.  
  
"Ok, I'll be there in about ten minutes." he said to her.  
  
"See ya in ten." she replied as they hung up the phone.  
  
Kim rolled off Bobby and put the phone back on the table.  
  
"I think we might wanna straighten this place up before Jimmy gets here," she said as she rolled over to face him.  
  
"Let him catch us together, show him the proper way to treat a lady." he said as he leaned in and gently kissed her.  
  
"You charmer." She said laughing as she scooted towards the edge of the bed.  
  
Reluctantly they both got up and got dressed. Kim made the bed and straightened up the bedroom as Bobby headed through the rest of the apartment making sure everything was in order. As Kim left the bedroom she made sure Bobby hadn't missed anything, and he doubled checked his room. Kim sat down on the sofa, as Jimmy knocked on the door.  
  
"I'll get it." Kim said to Bobby as she prepared to stand up.  
  
"Oh no you won't. he replied jogging from the bedroom with a pillow and a blanket for her.  
  
Once Kim was situated, Bobby let Jimmy in.  
  
Jimmy headed towards the sofa, when he saw the wound on Kim's upper arm as she huddled under the blanket Bobby had given her. Bobby headed into one of the back rooms to give the two of them so privacy.  
  
As Jimmy sat down next to his ex-wife, nothing could have prepared him for all the bruises not to mention the knife wound. He couldn't imagine what she had endured in the morning hours earlier.  
  
"How is your arm?" he asked.  
  
"Still really tender." she replied as he gently touched around the wound.  
  
"I can't even possibly begin to imagine everything that you had to endure today." he said quietly.  
  
"I just hope I never have to go through that or anything like it again." she said in return as she looked at the solemn expression on Jimmy's face.  
  
After talking for quite some time, Jimmy said; "It's getting late so I'd better go so you can rest."  
  
"I'll call you tomorrow to see how you are doing, plus I'm pretty sure Joey will want to talk to you." he said as he traced the bruise on the left side of her face.  
  
Jimmy gently kissed her on the forehead and walked to the door to leave. He took one last look at her and left Bobby's apartment.  
  
When he got back to his car tears had started to fall. When he got back to the firehouse, he headed straight for the roof to be alone for a while.  
  
He sat on the roof with his head in his hands, unable to get the images of Kim's injuries out of his head.  
  
"Want some company?" came a soft voice from behind him.  
  
"Sure." he said, still in disbelief.  
  
Alex walked over to where Jimmy was and sat down next to him.  
  
"I can't begin to imagine what she went through today." Jimmy said looking at Alex.  
  
"I know, just the appearance of her wounds tells a person that she tried to get away and that she didn't give in." Alex said to Jimmy.  
  
"I would have loved to have seen her chewing out his brother, cuz when she gets worked up its like a volcano erupting." he said as he looked over at Alex.  
  
"You would know wouldn't you?" Alex replied looking out at the horizon.  
  
"Yep, but no matter what I will always love her, even if she doesn't give me a second chance." he replied looking into Alex's eyes.  
  
"She and I used to come up here before our shifts were over and just sit back and look at the stars on the skyline and talk." he began to say.  
  
"Even in cold weather like this?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yep, she would always lean back against my chest like this," he said as he pulled Alex over and used her as a guinea pig.  
  
"Then I would wrap my arms around her waist and just hold her as we talked." he finished as tears began to fall from his face as he remembered some of the happiest moments he and Kim had together.  
  
"It's ok Jimmy, just let it out." she said quietly as she rested her chin on his head and ran her hands through his thick black hair as he cried on her shoulder.  
  
A short time later after Jimmy had regained his composure, Alex said "Let's head back inside and warm up with some hot chocolate."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Jimmy said as he walked with her back inside the firehouse.  
  
Jimmy reached up and took out two mugs from one of the cabinets and grabbed a bag of miniature marshmallows as Alex put on a kettle of water to boil. Within minutes the water was done and the two sat at the round kitchen table at the firehouse sipping on hot chocolate to remove the chill from their bodies. The two sat in silence for the most part, until Jimmy said, "Alex, can I get your opinion on something?"  
  
"Sure." She replied as she sipped her hot chocolate.  
  
"Honestly, do you think Kim will give me a second chance?" he said quietly. 


	13. Realization

"Oh my god. He doesn't know she's dating Bobby." Alex said to herself as she just about choked on hot chocolate.  
  
"It all depends on whether you can earn her trust again. You really hurt her last time, so it depends on how comfortable she is with the idea. Alex replied, knowing it wasn't her place to tell him about Kim and Bobby.  
  
"Yeah, but I honestly never had any intentions on cheating on her, especially with family." he said as he hung his head in shame.  
  
"Jimmy, I've got to go, Ty's here to pick me up." Alex replied softly.  
  
"Ok." he said as he got up and placed his empty mug in the sink.  
  
"Oh, Alex." he said before she left.  
  
"Yes?" she replied as she turned back around to face him.  
  
"Thank you for listening to me up there, I really appreciate it." He replied smiling as he sat back down at the table.  
  
"No problem." she said back as she walked back over to where he sat.  
  
"Just remember one thing." she continued to say as she put her hands on his broad shoulders; "Even if Kim decided to give you a second chance, you are still engaged to be married. You'd have to face the music with the other woman, so chose wisely."  
  
"Yeah, thanks again for listening. The guys out there wouldn't understand where I was coming from if I'd tried to talk to them." he said comically.  
  
"Your just lucky I work here, cuz if I didn't you'd be completely clueless." Alex said laughing.  
  
"Go on, Ty's waiting on you." Jimmy said softly.  
  
"Ok. If you want to talk after work tomorrow let me know," she said to him before she left.  
  
"Ok, thanks." he said smiling as she turned and left.  
  
Ty Davis leaned up against one of the walls outside the station in the bitter New York weather, waiting on Alex to emerge from the firehouse.  
  
"What took you so long?" Ty asked Alex when she finally came out of the firehouse.  
  
"I think Jimmy wants me to be his so called shrink to help work out the problems between him and Kim," she said as the walked towards his place.  
  
When they were clear of the firehouse Alex said, "The only thing he doesn't know is Kim is already seeing someone else."  
  
"Since when?" Ty asked in shock.  
  
"Since tonight." Alex replied back smiling.  
  
"And who is the lucky man in her life?" Ty asked.  
  
"Not telling, you gotta guess," she said laughing.  
  
"Let's play twenty questions when we get home then." Ty said as he looked over at Alex.  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Alex replied as she pulled Ty closer to her as they walked.  
  
When they got to his place, Ty grabbed a notepad and pen and headed off to his room with Alex in tow. Before the game began Alex took one look at Ty who was sitting on the bed thinking of all the single guys at the 55 and busted out laughing, breaking his concentration.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked looking at his list.  
  
"How stupid your going to feel about doing a list when you discover the answer." she replied as she sat down beside him.  
  
"Is it that obvious?" he questioned.  
  
"You'll be kicking yourself for not seeing it." Alex said poking him in the ribs.  
  
"You're sure it's someone we know, right?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, I see the person every day at work." she replied.  
  
"No way! I think I got it." Ty exclaimed as he looked up at Alex.  
  
"Ok, give me the first letter of the last name." She replied.  
  
"B." he said in response.  
  
"Nope." She replied smiling.  
  
"Do you give up yet?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, all right. Tell me then, who is her new beau." Ty said.  
  
"It's Bobby you idiot." she replied laughing.  
  
"Oh my god! Caffey really did get the guts up to ask her." He exclaimed.  
  
"Speaking of Kim, I didn't see her at work today, where was she?" Ty asked.  
  
"You didn't hear?" Alex replied shocked.  
  
"No, what?" he replied back.  
  
"Bobby's brother Matty beat her up because she was trying to help Bobby work things about between the two of them." she replied.  
  
"How do you know?" Ty asked.  
  
"Because she called me today from Bobby's and I went over and she told me what happened." she replied.  
  
"How bad is she hurt?" he asked.  
  
"She's covered in bruises, even one that almost consumes the whole left side of her face, and a knife wound on her upper arm." Alex replied.  
  
"Is she staying with Bobby for a while?"  
  
"I think so, that way Joey won't have to see his mother covered in bruises." She replied back to Ty.  
  
A short time later, Ty fell asleep and Alex leaned over and gently kissed him when she didn't get a response from him and went to sleep beside him.  
  
Back at Bobby's, Kim was going through some movies trying to find one for the two of them to watch. After selecting Signs, she placed the movie in the VCR and headed into the bedroom to get pillows and blankets for the floor. Meanwhile, Bobby was in the kitchen fixing popcorn and got out to bottles of water for them as he waited for the bag to stop popping. After several minutes the bag was done and he carried the popcorn and waters into the living room and sat down in the floor amidst a sea of pillows and leaned up against the couch. Kim had gotten up to turn off the lights as Bobby started the movie. She came back over to sit down when Bobby pulled her down into his lap and covered the two of them with the blanket and slid his arms around her waist as she laid back against him resting her head on his chest as the movie began.  
  
Jimmy lay alone in his apartment unable to get the images of Kim's wounds out of his head. Unable to sleep he looked out at the quiet city below and turned on the CD player sitting in the bookcase of his room and did some push-ups, crunches and sit-ups trying to get to the point to where he could sleep. After about ten reps he finally felt exhaustion starting to set in and was able to sleep.  
  
Meanwhile, the movie Kim and Bobby had been watching had ended and Kim went about the task of returning the living room to order. After returning the pillows and blanket to the rooms they had come from, Kim headed to the bathroom to run a brush through her hair one last time before she went to bed. As she finished, she heard music playing from one of the rooms. The music playing sounded like it was a blend of Latin American, new age, and dance music all combined into one, which was mesmerizing.  
  
She quietly entered the room the music was playing from and went over to Bobby and pulled him to his feet. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she began to move her body in time to the music. He followed suit as he pulled her closer to him. As they moved together to the music, it felt as if nothing else mattered to them. As the song ended he brought his lips to hers as they began dancing to the next song on the CD. The music played as he kneaded his hands into the small of her back while she dug her nails gently into his back as he moved from kissing her lips to the side of her neck. When the music was over, the silence in the room was broken by the sound of the phone ringing. Bobby walked over and picked up the phone as Kim sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Hello." Bobby said into the phone.  
  
"Hey Bobby, its Alex. I'm sorry for calling so late, but could I talk to Kim for a bit?" she asked.  
  
"We were still up, lemme pass her the phone." he replied as he handed her the phone.  
  
"Hey Alex what's up?" Kim asked as Bobby left the room for a bit.  
  
"Not much, just couldn't sleep after the conversation I had with Jimmy earlier." She replied.  
  
"What did he say?" Kim asked in question.  
  
"He's pretty scared after seeing what Matty did to you. When he got back to the firehouse after he'd come from seeing how you were he went straight to the roof and was looking at the sky. I found him up on the roof staring at the stars. Then he started saying he couldn't imagine everything that you went through at the hands of Matty. He then began to recollect the memories of the two of you when you were together when you would look at the stars together and just sit around and talk and stuff like that until he finally broke down." Alex said.  
  
"Jimmy broke down in tears?" she asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, he totally got me off guard. So once he was up to it I took him back inside the station and fixed him a mug of hot chocolate, since he was starting to shiver a bit." Alex replied.  
  
"I've never seen him cry before." Kim said, still trying to grasp everything Alex had just told her.  
  
"Here is the real kicker though." Alex began to say.  
  
"Uh oh, what did he say?" Kim asked.  
  
"He asked my opinion on if you would consider giving him a second chance." Alex said softly. 


	14. Unable to forget the past

"Are you serious?" Kim said in shock.  
  
"I didn't tell him about you and Bobby. But from the way he was talking, he really wants to be back with you and call off the engagement to his fiancé." Alex said.  
  
"Thanks for not saying anything. I can't believe all this!" Kim replied to Alex in disbelief.  
  
"I'll let you go because I'm sure you've got stuff you want to think over." Alex said.  
  
"Yeah, I do. Thanks for letting me know." Kim replied.  
  
"See ya later." Alex said as she hung up the phone.  
  
After laying the phone down on the bed, Kim laid back and stared at the ceiling in disbelief at everything Alex had just told her. Several minutes later Bobby returned to the room and found Kim staring at the ceiling.  
  
"What did Alex want?" Bobby asked, sitting down next to where she lay.  
  
"She wanted to give me the heads up that Jimmy is taking everything that's happened really hard." she replied back to him still in shock.  
  
"What do you mean by taking this really hard?" he asked.  
  
"After he left here, Alex found him up on the roof staring at the stars. She began talking to him and minutes later he broke down in tears in her arms." Kim finished as she looked up at Bobby sitting beside her.  
  
"Whoa, Doherty in tears, I never thought he had it in him." Bobby said.  
  
"Don't feel bad, I didn't see it in him either and I was married to him at one point." Kim replied shaking her head.  
  
"If you want, tomorrow I have to go run some errands for a while and he could come over and the two of you could talk things out." Bobby said.  
  
"That would probably be a good idea." Kim replied; "We better get some sleep, it will be daylight before we know it."  
  
The next morning Kim woke up first and quietly slipped out of bed. After gathering some clean clothes she headed into the bathroom for her morning shower. The shampoo and conditioner no longer caused as much pain on her arm as it had the past couple of days. Grabbing a towel as she stepped from the shower she dried off and put on a pair of navy blue jogging pants and matching spaghetti strapped top. As she began to towel dry her hair there was a knock at the bathroom door.  
  
"Come on in, I'm just combing out my hair." she said as she continued the task of combing the tangles out of her hair.  
  
Minute's later Bobby walked in as Kim had just finished combing out her hair.  
  
"How is your arm doing?" Bobby asked her.  
  
"It's still sore but it doesn't bother me like it did the past couple of days." she said back as she picked up the hair dryer.  
  
Bobby began to run water for a shower as Kim finished blow drying her hair and turned to leave the room brushing her hair as she walked.  
  
"I'll go straighten things up before you leave and then call Jimmy." She said as she closed the bathroom door behind her.  
  
She headed in to make the bed and stopped by the kitchen first and grabbed an apple for breakfast. After finishing off the apple, she quickly made the bed and headed to the living room to think for a bit. As she sat on the sofa with her knees up to her chest thinking about some things, a sense of unease settled in the pit of her stomach. When Bobby came out from his shower, he found her curled up on the sofa.  
  
"Everything ok?" he asked as he kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Yeah but I keep getting this feeling something is gonna happen but I don't know what. Maybe I'm just being paranoid." she replied as Bobby sat down next to her.  
  
"You've got a right to be paranoid after everything that's happened."  
  
"Yeah, but still. Additional worry isn't going to do either of us any good." Kim said as she looked over at Bobby.  
  
"True. But until Matty is caught we don't know if he'll try to come after you again." Bobby said.  
  
"I know. I just pray he doesn't." she replied quietly.  
  
"Do you want me to stay home today?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I should probably be ok, like I said I'm probably just being paranoid. Plus with Jimmy being here for a while I should be ok." she replied, not knowing those words would come back to haunt her later.  
  
"Alright, I'm gonna go finish getting ready and head out. If you need anything while I'm gone call me." Bobby said as he headed back to his room.  
  
Several minutes later he returned to the living room and gave Kim a farewell kiss, grabbed his wallet, keys and jacket and headed out to run some errands. After Bobby had left, Kim went and called Jimmy to see if he wanted to talk about last night. As she dialed the number for his cell phone, she sat anxiously on the couch as she waited for him to pick up. Just as she was about ready to hang up, he answered.  
  
"Hello,"  
  
"Hey Jimmy how are you?" Kim asked.  
  
"A little tired, but pretty good." he replied.  
  
"Alex called me last night because she was worried about you. Do you want to come over and talk?"  
  
"Sure, but is that ok with Bobby?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, we talked about this last night after Alex called, he said it would be fine if you came over."  
  
"Ok, give me five minutes and I'll be over." he replied.  
  
"I'll be here." She said as she hung up the phone.  
  
As she sat on the couch waiting for Jimmy to arrive, she began to wonder what his reaction to her dating Bobby would be. In a matter of minutes, she heard a knock at the door and went to let Jimmy in. As they sat side by side, Kim said, "Where do you want to start at?"  
  
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Yesterday after I saw you, I couldn't get the images of you out of my head. If I'd found the guy who did this to you he would no longer be among the living, I was so full of anger at what happened to you." he began to say.  
  
"That's understandable for you to be angry at Matty, because right now a lot of people are angry with him." She replied.  
  
"When I got back to the firehouse I went straight to the roof to try and clear my head when Alex came up to check on me. Just thinking about what he did to you, for you to get so many bruises broke my heart. Because I know you didn't deserve what he did to you." Jimmy said hesitantly; "Then I started thinking of how we used to sit on the roof of the firehouse when we were together and look at the stars while in each others arms. That combined with the thoughts of your injuries caused me to break down," he said as tears began to fall.  
  
"Oh Jimmy. Come here," she said as she hugged him close as he began to cry harder on her shoulder. After several minutes past, Jimmy finally regained his composure, still remembering some of the best times he and Kim had together.  
  
"Have you given any thought to us getting back together?" he asked.  
  
"I have thought about it." She began to say; "Part of me wants to, not just for Joey but for all of us, but part of me says no. I still have feelings for you, not just because you are Joey's father but because when you want to be you can be a really nice guy."  
  
"Why do I have a feeling there is more that you're going to say." He said uneasily.  
  
"You're right there is more. After thinking, I realized since you're engaged that complicates things even more, because I know you didn't ask Brooke to marry you just to piss me off. You must really love her in order to ask her to marry you. Not only that, I've finally found someone I'm happy to be with. I don't want to break up your engagement if there is a chance that you and Brooke will be happy. It took a long time for me to get over the hurt I felt when you cheated on me. Now I've finally found someone I can trust after everything you put me through," she said as tears stung the corners of her eyes.  
  
"I'd like to see how things go with the relationship I'm in now and give you and Brooke a chance to be happy." she finished.  
  
Jimmy sat in silence as he listened to the words Kim said and realized she was right, yet he was angry that he couldn't be with her the way he had several days before, now that she had moved on.  
  
"Do I know the person you're seeing?" he asked.  
  
"Yes you do." She replied.  
  
After a bit of silence she said, "Just so you know, Bobby and I have been seeing each other for a few days now."  
  
"You and Bobby?" Jimmy said as anger began to build.  
  
"Yes, me and Bobby." She said.  
  
"Why would you want to be with him? He isn't good enough for you! He is below you!" Jimmy said.  
  
"You are entitled to your opinion and I am to mine. You have to realize Bobby helped has me through a lot and I have helped him through a lot of rough times. We have known each other for a long time and we agreed that for some reason if things didn't work out we would always remain best friends." she said.  
  
All of a sudden Jimmy stood up and forcefully pulled Kim to her feet and kissed her. Pain shot through her injured arm as he squeezed her upper arms while kissing her. She tried desperately to break free of his overpowering grasp, but couldn't. She felt her legs buckle as the room went black as she went unconscious from the excruciating pain in her arm. Jimmy lowered her to the floor seeing his hand covered in blood from the pressure he had applied to her injured arm. Unsure of what he had done, he ran out of the apartment, abandoned her, lying lifelessly, pulling the door behind him.  
  
As Bobby finished his errands, he pulled out his cell phone to let Kim know he was headed home, but he got no answer.  
  
"Oh god something has happened." he thought as he raced home. 


	15. Confrontation

Several minutes later he was on his way down the corridor to his apartment. When he went to unlock the door, he discovers it is already unlocked and his heart began to race even more. When he walks in, he sees Kim unconscious on the floor and blood oozing from the wound on her arm. He quickly puts the bags he was carrying down and picks her up off the floor and carries her into the bathroom and cleans the blood from her arm. After applying a pressure bandage to the wound, he carries her back to his room and gently places her on the bed and sits beside her waiting for her to regain consciousness.  
  
She heard Bobby's voice calling out to her, beckoning to her to come back. When she woke up, things were momentarily a blur. Once she remembered the events prior to her black out, she found Bobby asleep next to her. She gently placed her hand on his chest, rousing him from his slumber.  
  
"When did you wake up?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Just now." She replied groggily.  
  
"What happened while I was gone?" he asked, holding her close.  
  
"About five minutes after you left, Jimmy came over and we started talking about what Alex told me last night. As he told me what he told her, he broke down again and then out of the blue asked me if I'd ever consider going back out with him. But I told him I couldn't because you and I were together. Let's just say he didn't take that one too well. I could tell he was mad, and the next thing I knew he forcefully pulls me off the couch by my upper arms and forces me to kiss him. He put so much pressure on my injured arm, I blacked out." she said as she relived the events of earlier in her mind.  
  
Anger welled inside Bobby when he learned Jimmy was the cause of Kim passing out.  
  
"You lay here and rest. I'm going to talk to Jimmy." Bobby said.  
  
"Ok, just remember he's taking care of Joey so no beat-downs." Kim said.  
  
"I'll personally kick his ass later then." Bobby said with a devilish grin.  
  
As Bobby left, Kim called Alex to warn her about the confrontation between the two men.  
  
"Hey Alex what's up?" Kim asked.  
  
"Not a whole lot. How are you doing?" she replied.  
  
"Pretty good, till I told Jimmy about me and Bobby dating." Kim said back to Alex.  
  
"Why do I have a feeling that didn't go over too well." Alex asked.  
  
"Your right, it didn't go over well at all." Kim replied.  
  
"What did he say?" Alex asked.  
  
"His exact words were 'Why would you want to be with him? He isn't good enough for you! He is below you.' "Kim replied; "Then he forcefully pulled me off the couch by my upper arms and forced me to kiss him. He didn't even think to watch my injured arm! He put so much pressure on it, it began to bleed again and I passed out for two hours because the pain was so severe."  
  
"It looks like Bobby is gonna have an ass-chewing partner, because when I get done with Jimmy he'll wish he never said anything to you about the relationship you are having with Bobby." Alex fumed.  
  
"I'll call him and warn him he has a partner." Kim replied as she wondered how bad the confrontation between the three of them would be.  
  
"Tell him I'll wait for him outside the station and we'll go for him at the same time." Alex said.  
  
"Ok. Will do." Kim replied as she hung up with Alex and called Bobby.  
  
Kim quickly called Bobby to let him know of Alex joining him in the chew- out-Jimmy fest.  
  
"Hey, I just talked to Alex and it looked like you've got a partner to chew out Jimmy with." Kim said to Bobby as he headed to the station.  
  
"Awesome. The more the merrier." Bobby replied.  
  
"Alex said she'd meet you in front of the firehouse." Kim said.  
  
"Ok, thanks for letting me know." Bobby said back as he rounded the corner to the fire station.  
  
"Not a problem." she replied as she turned off the phone and went to lie down for a while.  
  
Bobby got closer to the firehouse and saw Alex waiting for him with a look that would put fear in the Devil himself.  
  
"Hey Alex." Bobby said as he neared where she was sitting.  
  
"Hey yourself, ready for a chew out?" she asked.  
  
"Absolutely." he replied.  
  
As they entered the firehouse, the guys were watching TV as usual. Alex stepped behind them and said, "Where's Doherty?"  
  
"Dunno, haven't seen him for a while." one of the other firefighters replied.  
  
Alex grabbed the remote from the hand of the firefighter who had responded to her question and flipped off the television and said, "Unless you all want included in the ass kicking I suggest someone start talking."  
  
"Upstairs on the roof." one of the other firefighters said.  
  
"Thank you." she replied smiling as she tossed the remote to him and headed for the roof with Bobby in tow.  
  
As they reached the roof, Jimmy was sitting in the same place he had been last time she'd found him up here.  
  
"Ladies first." Bobby said smiling as Alex headed for Jimmy.  
  
Jimmy heard footsteps coming towards him and turned to see Alex coming.  
  
"Boy do I have a serious bone to pick with you." Alex began to say.  
  
"What do you want Taylor." Jimmy said in annoyance.  
  
"For starters how about an explanation for your behavior today?" she shot back.  
  
"What do you want me to say?" he replied back, cutting her off.  
  
"I know you've still got feelings for Kim, but your going to have to accept the fact that she's moved on with her life." Alex began to try to explain.  
  
"And what if I can't?" he replied staring out at the skyline.  
  
"Then you need to grow up. The way you acted earlier was way lower than anything I thought you were capable of." she said as tears began to sting the corners of her eyes as she pictured Kim trying to free herself from Jimmy's grasp.  
  
"How is she doing?" he asked softly.  
  
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Alex replied coldly.  
  
Jimmy turned around expecting to see Kim but saw Bobby instead.  
  
Rage grew inside Jimmy as Bobby stood next to Alex.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking Doherty? Kim never said a single word about your engagement, why are you giving her problems because of me? " Bobby asked in anger.  
  
"Kim doesn't know Brooke, but I know you're sorry excuse for a human being!" Jimmy replied as fury coursed through his veins.  
  
"Since when did you think that you were good enough for her now! At least I've never cheated on her or broken her heart like you have!" Bobby shot back; "You have no idea how much you hurt her when the two of you were married. I would have asked her out a lot sooner if you hadn't put her through so much. I never saw you trying to apologize for the pain you put her through. I was the only one she would turn to in order to talk through the hell you put her through." He replied vehemently.  
  
"She will always be tied to me through our son, and she will always have feelings for me." Jimmy taunted.  
  
"You devastated her and broke her heart! How could you expect a second chance?" Bobby said as he turned to leave.  
  
Alex turned and followed Bobby and when they neared the door to re-enter the firehouse she heard running footsteps. Alex looked over her shoulder and saw Jimmy charging at them. Alex stood in between the two men, bracing herself and prepping for a punch. When Jimmy was close enough she used a right hook connecting with his stomach. Jimmy doubled over at the force of Alex's punch as he tried to regain the breath that was knocked from his body. Alex turned back to Bobby and proceeded to head back into the firehouse.  
  
"Where did you learn to punch like that." Bobby asked in surprise.  
  
"When you grow up with a household full of brothers, you learn to defend yourself real fast." she replied.  
  
"We'd better warn the rest of the guys and the chief to steer clear of Doherty for a while, so they don't wonder what's gotten into him." Alex said.  
  
"Good idea. Which of us wants to do the honors?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I can, just come with me incase they have any questions." Alex replied.  
  
"Ok. No problem." Bobby said as they walked towards the chief's office.  
  
The chief was working on some paperwork when he heard a knock at his office door and looked up to see Alex and Bobby standing in the doorway.  
  
"What can I do for you two?" he asked as he looked up from the papers on his desk.  
  
"I just thought you might want to watch out for Doherty for a bit, he's a bit angry at the moment." Alex said.  
  
"And why is that?" he asked.  
  
"Jimmy just found out from Kim that she won't be getting back together with him because she and I just started going out." Bobby replied.  
  
"Congrats on hooking up with Kim, she deserves someone like you who won't do the things Jimmy did to her." he said to Bobby.  
  
"Thank you." Bobby replied.  
  
"I'll keep an eye out on Doherty and make sure he keeps himself inline." The chief said back to Bobby and Alex.  
  
As Alex and Bobby left the chief's office she warned the rest of the guys to steer clear of Jimmy for a bit. Just then, she saw Jimmy coming down from the roof. Jimmy caught a glimpse of Alex and began to run towards her.  
  
"Doherty!" a voice boomed.  
  
Jimmy spun around to see who was yelling at him.  
  
"Leave those two alone." the chief said.  
  
"Alex, you go with Bobby to check and see how Kim is doing. Feel free to stay for a while since things have been slow. If we need you, I'll send Carlos after you." the chief said.  
  
"Thank you." she replied as she left the firehouse with Bobby to check on Kim. 


	16. Never an Absolution

As the two headed back to Bobby's place, they stopped and picked up dinner for the three of them. When they got back to his apartment, Kim was still asleep as they began to set out dinner in the kitchen. It had been over four hours since Bobby had left to confront Jimmy about the days events and decided to wake her up to see if she wanted to join them for dinner. As Alex finished setting out the stuff they had brought back for dinner, Bobby went in and woke up Kim. He gently sat down beside her and brushed her hair gently away from her face and said,  
  
"Hey sleepyhead, I've got dinner if you want to get up and eat."  
  
Feeling his gentle touch on her face, she began to wake up slowly. As she opened her eyes, she saw Bobby smiling back at her.  
  
"You've got company." He said as he motioned for Alex to come on in.  
  
"Hey Alex, how are you?" Kim asked as she stood up.  
  
"Pretty good, how about you?" Alex replied.  
  
"Starving." Kim replied laughing.  
  
Alex and Bobby began to laugh with her as they headed into the kitchen to eat dinner. After eating, the group sat around and talked for a while until Carlos called Alex saying that they were needed to respond to a call. Bobby walked Alex outside to wait on Carlos and returned to his apartment after she'd left.  
  
"How did things go with you, Alex and Jimmy?" Kim asked when he returned.  
  
"Believe it or not it went better than I expected." Bobby replied; "Of course he wasn't too thrilled to see me, but things went relatively well."  
  
"I can't wait to be able to go back to work. I'm not used to lying around and doing nothing," she said.  
  
"Since the bruise on your face is almost gone, do you want to go out tomorrow and visit the guys at the station since they are probably worried about you?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Sure, then we could go shopping or something afterwards." she replied smiling.  
  
"Sounds like a plan." Bobby said.  
  
All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Kim got up and looked through the peephole in the door to find Matty on the other side. As she looked at his face, she saw the look of pure evil in his eyes as all the color drained from her face. She slowly backed away from the door, grabbing onto the back of the couch for balance.  
  
"Kim, what's wrong?" Bobby asked as he saw the fear she felt in her eyes.  
  
"Matty's at the door." she whispered.  
  
"Go call Faith and Bosco from my room." he told her as he went to the door.  
  
As soon as she was safe, Bobby cracked open the door slightly and said, "What the hell do you want!"  
  
"I live here don't I?" Matty sneered.  
  
"Not anymore you don't." Bobby replied shortly.  
  
"So, you just gonna kick your brother out onto the streets?" he said with a sinister laugh.  
  
"After what you did to Kim, I don't want anything else to do with you." Bobby spat at his brother.  
  
Just then Faith and Bosco arrived, but Matty turned and ran for the stairs as the two officers stepped off the elevator.  
  
"He just ran for the stairs." Bobby shouted to the two officers.  
  
"Faith, take the elevator back down, I'm taking the stairs." Bosco yelled as he ran towards the stairs.  
  
Faith headed back down in the elevator and met up with Bosco outside, but Matty was long gone. Seeing Matty again had brought back all the memories of him beating her, which had taken place four days ago. Faith and Bosco went back to Bobby's apartment to let him know that Matty had gotten away and to check on Kim. After the two officers left, Bobby went in and sat next to Kim who was still frightened after seeing the person who very well could have killed her. Gradually Kim began to relax after seeing Matty again. Bobby sat next to her offering words of support and comfort. Eventually the two fell asleep in each other's arms and rested peacefully, until he was awakened by Kim mumbling to herself. He assumed she was having flashbacks to the night Matty had beat her. She eventually settled down and Bobby drifted off back to sleep.  
  
The next morning Bobby awoke first, looking over at Kim who slept peacefully beside him. She had several other flashbacks throughout the night and finally was able to sleep without having the episodes. he got up and took a hot shower and put on a pot of coffee. About an hour later Kim got up and found him drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen.  
  
"Hey." she said quietly as she put her hands on his tense shoulders.  
  
"How do you feel this morning?" he asked as she sat in the chair beside him.  
  
"A little tired but pretty good." she replied back.  
  
"Still up to visiting the 55, and going shopping." he asked.  
  
"Yeah. I need to get out for a bit since I haven't been anywhere in almost a week." she replied.  
  
"As soon as you are ready we'll head out." Bobby told her.  
  
Kim got up and headed for the shower as Bobby headed to his room to change into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Several minutes later, she emerged wearing a pair of black jeans and a red sweater. Kim grabbed her purse while Bobby got his keys and wallet and the two headed off.  
  
As Kim and Bobby entered the firehouse, they were met by concerned firefighters happy to see that Kim was ok. Doc even came in and was relieved to see that she was alright. Jimmy was no where to be found, when the chief came out to welcome her back.  
  
"Its good to see you're ok." the chief told her.  
  
"I should be back on Monday, praying no other incidents happen between now and then." she said smiling.  
  
"It'll be good to have you back." the chief said smiling.  
  
"See you all on Monday." Kim said as she and Bobby turned to head out of the firehouse.  
  
"Where are the two of you headed now?" Alex called to Kim.  
  
"We're headed off for a day of shopping." Kim said laughing. "Boy do I feel sorry for you Bobby." Alex said laughing.  
  
"Why is that?" he asked.  
  
"Because when a woman goes shopping its usually an all day thing." she said with a sly grin on her face.  
  
"Oh boy, now I'm in trouble." Bobby replied laughing.  
  
"Hey! I heard that." Kim said as she swatted him on the arm.  
  
"You two run along and have fun. Kim, I'll call you later to see if Bobby made it through the day." she said with a laugh.  
  
"Ok. See you all later." They both replied as they left the firehouse.  
  
After over five hours of shopping both Kim and Bobby agreed that it was time to head home and returned to his apartment with arms full of bags.  
  
::Several Months Later::  
  
Kim was working with Alex due to Bobby having the night off. Alex and Kim talked about everything from relationships to the latest spring fashions. The shift had been relatively slow, but they didn't realize that they were being followed. As the rest of the shift winded down, they headed back to the station to prepare for the end of the shift if no other calls came through.  
  
Jimmy had finally accepted the fact that Kim had moved on with her life, and no longer showed animosity towards Bobby for dating his ex-wife. Inside the firehouse, Alex and Kim sat in the kitchen talking till it was time to straighten up the bus for the next shift. When it was time to go home, Kim was the last one to leave for the evening. As she left, the streets were eerily quiet, and a slight breeze was blowing which gave her a sense of uneasiness as she walked towards her apartment. Out of the shadows, a man in black crept up behind her and clamped a dampened rag over her mouth and nose. Her mind panicked and she slowly felt the contents of the rag begin to take effect as everything went black.  
  
Several hours later Bobby called Kim's apartment to see how things went on his day off. When he got no answer he began to worry.  
  
"She didn't mention anything about working a double tonight." Bobby thought to himself; "I wonder where she could be?"  
  
As the drugs wore off, Kim found herself tied to a chair with duct tape and gagged to prevent her from calling for help. As her mind raced in panic, she heard footsteps coming towards her, but couldn't make out the identity of who had kidnapped her. 


	17. Escape

Her eyes focused on a figure coming towards her. The footsteps grew closer as a man dressed in black crossed the distance of the room coming in her direction. There was a faint light from the street lamp that illuminated the figure heading for her. The figure was wearing a black sweater and what appeared to be black denim jeans. She noticed the man headed towards her was very well built muscularly, evident by the way his muscles bulged underneath his clothing. He stood before her enjoying the sight of her at his mercy. He took his right hand and placed it under her chin, raising her head till she was looking into his eyes. He leaned close to her right ear and said tauntingly, "Well, Well. We meet again I see.", the scent of his cologne filling her nostrils.  
  
"Oh god, where am I?" Kim said to herself as her eyes darted around the room, picking up on the familiar odor.  
  
Her captor began to walk around her chair, finally stopping in front of her and said, "I believe you and I will get to know each other quite well while you're here." He sneered as he began to stroke her cheek. Kim jerked her head away as the mans hand touched her cheek.  
  
"Tsk Tsk." he said as he clenched her chin, his grasp immobilizing her head.  
  
"Fiery one are you?" he asked mockingly, his right hand tracing her collarbone watching her reaction with a smirk on his face.  
  
She felt her skin crawl as his hand traced along her collarbone, looking at the disgusting smirk he wore on his face. In her mind she called out for Bobby, hoping this wasn't actually happening, that it was just a bad dream or something. She fought against the restraints he'd put on her hoping she could break free, once the actuality of the situation sunk in.  
  
"I don't think you're going anywhere anytime soon," the harsh voice of the man before her said, squeezing her thigh with his hand.  
  
She tried to kick at him but couldn't due to the tape that had been applied to her ankles, keeping them securely fastened to the legs of the chair she was in. She felt a sense of relief when she saw the figure move off into the shadows, which gave her the opportunity to try and figure a way out of this situation.  
  
"Where have I smelled that cologne before?" she asked herself, wracking her brain to remember where she knew the odor from to possible help identify the person who'd kidnapped her.  
  
Meanwhile, Bobby had fallen asleep by the phone when he was awakened by the image of Kim being kidnapped flashed into his brain. He woke up drenched in sweat and eyes wide, full of fear. He quickly grabbed the phone and called her apartment. When he got no answer he began to panic and called Kim's mother to see if she had heard from her. Her mother hadn't heard from her either and was worried because she was supposed to have picked up Joey after work. Frantically, Bobby called Alex to see if she had seen her. Alex hadn't seen Kim since before she left the station at the end of her shift.  
  
By now fear had consumed Bobby's mind. He decided to head to the firehouse and retrace the steps Kim normally took to get to her complex after work. Half way to where she lived, he accidentally kicked something on the sidewalk. He looked down but couldn't see anything since it was dark, but something told him to kneel down and check it out anyway. As his hand touched the ground, he felt something made out of nylon. As he picked up the object and held it closer to the light, he realized he was holding the bag Kim always carried with her to work. Tears began to flow down his face in anguish at the thought of not knowing whether she was ok.  
  
Bobby called Alex back, since she'd asked him to if he found anything out. As she listened to what Bobby said, she felt as if she'd been hit in the stomach. The fact that her best friend was missing was almost too much for her to take. As Alex hung up the phone after talking to Bobby, she could no longer hold back the tears that had formed as her body became wracked with sobs. Having heard muffled sobs coming from the living room of his apartment, Ty quietly got up and found Alex crying.  
  
"What's wrong?" Ty asked as he placed a strong arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Bobby called. Kim never made it home from work last night so he went to the firehouse to retrace the steps she would have taken to get home and found her bag on the ground in the shadows, not even half way from her apartment complex. Somebody had to have kidnapped her." Alex cried as she broke down in Ty's arms.  
  
"Lemme go call Sully, Faith and Bosco and we'll start looking for her." Ty said softly, as he rubbed Alex's back as she cried on his shoulder.  
  
Minutes later the four officers met at the firehouse and headed out to find Kim. Bobby headed back to his place, unable to believe that someone had kidnapped Kim. He prayed she was ok, hoping that everything would soon be back to normal.  
  
Meanwhile, Kim's mind raced, wondering if anyone had noticed she was missing. While her captor slept, she quietly tugged and worked the tape trying to loosen it. If she could loosen it enough she could reach her cell phone in her back pocket. All night long she worked at the tape that bound her to the chair. The next morning her captor awoke and found her trying to sleep, but regardless of what she did, she couldn't drift off to sleep. Next thing she knew, her captor had come around behind her and jerked her head back by her hair. Forgetting to change his voice, he looked her straight in the eye and said menacingly, "By the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you'd never gotten involved."  
  
Just then the terrifying realization hit of who had kidnapped her.  
  
"Oh god, this can't be happening again." she screamed in her mind; "Please Bobby, please find me," she pleaded to herself as a tear slid down her cheek.  
  
Her captor released her hair and stormed out of the building. Kim frantically began to work on freeing one of her hands, knowing that time was of the essence. Finally she freed her left hand and reached for her cell phone. She quickly put the phone in her lap and removed the tape from her mouth and breathed air into her burning lungs. As soon as she could speak, she called Bobby.  
  
"Hello." came a groggy voice.  
  
"Oh god Bobby, please help me," She cried.  
  
"Where are you?" Bobby asked as fear traumatized his mind at the sound of the panic and sheer terror in her voice.  
  
"I don't know, I'm in an abandoned building tied up. I was able to loosen the tape on my left arm to get to my cell phone," she said as she forced herself to calm down.  
  
"Do you know who kidnapped you?" he asked.  
  
"I think I just figured it out, thanks to something he said before he stormed out of the building." she replied.  
  
"What did he say?" Bobby asked as a knot of fear built up in his stomach.  
  
"He told me that by the time he's done with me I'll wish I'd never gotten involved in all of this." she replied quietly.  
  
Just then, it hit Bobby who had kidnapped Kim.  
  
"Oh god, he's coming back. I've got to go," she said frantically; "I'll call again next chance I can."  
  
"Ok, I love you Kim. Please stay safe." Bobby said softly.  
  
"I love you to Bobby." She replied as tears began to slip down her face, as she silently prayed she'd see him again.  
  
She quickly hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket and tried to free her right arm and legs before her captor came back into the room. Just as she freed herself and stood up, her captor walked through the door.  
  
"Just what do you think your doing you little bitch!" came her captor's booming voice as a look of anger appeared in his eyes.  
  
"Getting the hell away from you." she growled.  
  
Just then, her captor charged and lunged at her. Kim managed to elude his grasp and ran for the door. She was almost there when she felt herself being jerked backwards. Her captor spun her around to face him, but at the same moment Kim took her free hand and ripped the mask off of her captor's face.  
  
"Did you miss me?" came his booming voice again as he forcefully kissed Kim's mouth.  
  
Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at the face of her kidnapper. His sinister smile and sudden burst of angry words made her wonder if she'd ever see Bobby again.  
  
"You'll wish you'd never done that!" Matty roared as he backhanded Kim across the face, sending her flying backward onto the floor.  
  
She slowly tried to get up but was pinned to the floor by Matty.  
  
"I see what my brother sees in you, too bad he'll never see you again." Matty snarled in her face.  
  
Pure undefiled rage grew inside Kim at the thought of Matty keeping her from Bobby and Joey. She mustered all the strength she could and began to writhe around beneath Matty praying he released one of her arms. Finally he did, placing one hand on her stomach to keep her from moving around beneath him. She managed to free her right arm and balled it into a fist and punched Matty in the face, sending him rolling off of her. She got to her feet and scrambled to the door as adrenaline surged through her. She reached the stairs and realized she was almost free from her night in hell. When she stepped into the light outside, she realized where she was and took off to the closest building she knew of that was near the location of where she was at, the firehouse. Matty saw her running and gave chase but was quite a was behind her. She grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and called Bobby as she ran and told him to meet her at the firehouse. Bobby called Ty and relayed the meeting spot to the rest of the officers. Kim ran as hard as she could to get to the firehouse, her lungs burned, screaming for her to stop, but she was determined to live, for her son's sake as well as for Bobby.  
  
As she entered the firehouse, she ducked behind one of the fire trucks, gasping for air. When she saw Matty coming towards her, she sprinted towards the staircase that led to the roof of the station. Hearing movement, Matty ran after the noise not knowing if it was Kim or one of the firefighters. Bobby and the officers entered just as Matty took off after Kim. They heard footsteps running on the stairs and immediately followed in pursuit. When Kim reached the roof, she fell to the ground but got right back up, just as Matty stepped onto the roof.  
  
"Damn it! I can't take this anymore! Someone help me!" She screamed, wondering why she hadn't seen any of the fire fighters when she was running for the roof.  
  
Kim stared at Matty and he stared back at her as they waited for the other to make a move. Matty then lunged at her and managed to grab a hold of her arm before she could move out of the way.  
  
"For that little stunt, you are going to pay dearly." He sneered, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her already weak body into a brick wall.  
  
As the wind was knocked from her body, she became dazed for a bit until she heard Bobby's voice as he came up to the roof. When she heard Bobby's voice she called out to him hoarsely, praying he heard her. Matty tightened his grip on her throat as he slammed her to the ground. The force of her head hitting the ground gave Matty time to pin her down beneath his massive weight, rendering her helpless. A short scream escaped her lips as Matty slammed her to the roof.  
  
"You'll pay for trying to escape from me," he said full of rage as he punched her repeatedly in her face, chest and stomach.  
  
Having heard her scream, a sense of urgency built up in Bobby as they followed the direction her scream had come from. Bobby began to sneak up on his brother who had his back turned to him. Before Matty knew what had hit him, Bobby had ripped him off of Kim and threw him backward onto the ground. He then turned back and helped her battered body to stand. As Kim wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth, Matty began to charge at Bobby, but he moved out of the way as Matty slammed into the same wall he'd thrown Kim into. Bobby put his arm around Kim and helped her back to where the police officers were standing. She felt something wasn't right and looked back over her shoulder just as Matty pulled out a gun and aimed it at Bobby's back. She screamed as she watched him pull the trigger and instinctively shoved Bobby out of the way as the bullet entered her right shoulder.  
  
As soon as the officers had a clear shot, the four of them returned fire at Matty. As Bobby slowly got to his feet, he noticed Kim lying motionless on the ground. He ran over to where she lay and knelt down beside her. Faith and Bosco ran to get the medics while Sully checked to see if Matty was still alive. Bobby found a pulse on Kim's neck and knew she was alive, but was barely holding on.  
  
"Bobby, what can I help do?" Ty Davis asked.  
  
"Help me roll her so I can see if there is an exit wound, I'm afraid the bullet might have hit the subclavian artery which is the main artery leading into the arm." Bobby said as he held pressure over the entry wound.  
  
The two men carefully rolled her onto her left side and saw no exit wound, which meant the bullet was still inside her body. Just as they were about ready to lay her flat, Alex and Carlos came running with supplies and a backboard. Ty and Bobby stepped back and let there two friends take over and prepared Kim for transport to Angel of Mercy hospital. Bobby went over to the body of his dead brother and said several sentences in Spanish and left to go to the hospital to be with Kim. Sully and Davis placed a tarp over Matty and watched as the ambulance below sped away.  
  
Bobby sat in the waiting area of the hospital with the rest of firehouse 55 as the waited to hear about Kim's condition. 


	18. Confessions

Three hours later the doctor emerged from the O.R and headed over towards the large group waiting in the waiting area. Bobby was a basket case, literally. Thoughts raced through his head, wondering if Kim would be all right and what could he have done to avoid what had happened to her. Then something entered his mind that he hadn't realized until now. He knew Kim loved him with all her heart, but he never imagined that she would put her life in danger to keep him safe, especially since Joey depended on her. He knew he'd do the same for her in a heartbeat if the situation ever presented itself because she was his life, the one who made him complete.  
  
He heard silence begin to fall over the group as he looked up to see the doctor heading towards the group from the 55 and began to pray he was bringing the news that he'd prayed that he would hear, that Kim would be fine.  
  
"Luckily her injuries weren't too severe. The bullet nicked the subclavian artery but didn't sever it completely and caused no other injury to her shoulder. Other than the gun shot wound, the only other injuries she had were some broken ribs and a lot of bruises." the doctor told the group assembled in the waiting area.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Bobby sat at her bedside waiting for her to come out of anesthesia. Several minutes later, Kim began to come around. As she opened her eyes and got her bearings, she saw Bobby gently holding her right hand while praying in Spanish, Kim took her left hand and placed it on his cheek.  
  
"Hey," she said softly.  
  
"What did I get you in too?" Bobby asked in anguish.  
  
"Hush." She said lovingly; "It's over now, everything will be ok."  
  
"I almost got you killed. If I'd lost you I doubt I'd ever forgive myself," he said as some tears slipped down his face.  
  
Kim held his face tenderly in her hands as she wiped away the tears that had fallen from his brown eyes when she said, " When I looked back and saw Matty aiming a gun at your back, I knew if I didn't do something I would probably lose you forever. I knew that if I got hit when I pushed you out of the way, it wouldn't be too bad."  
  
"But what if." Bobby began to say, when Kim silenced him by placing a gentle kiss on his lips.  
  
"Don't worry about what could have been. All that matters is we have each other and that Matty can't hurt either of us anymore." she said softly.  
  
Just then there was a knock at her door. When Kim looked up she saw Ty and Alex standing in the doorway.  
  
"Come on in." she said smiling to her two friends.  
  
"I'd better go update the rest of the waiting area that you're awake." Bobby said softly.  
  
As Bobby headed for the waiting area, Ty and Alex came in and sat down.  
  
"What happened after work last night?" Alex asked quietly as she remembered the frantic call she'd gotten from Bobby the night before.  
  
"After I left the firehouse I was headed in the direction of my apartment complex. Half way there I heard footsteps appear out of no where. Before I could react, the next thing I knew was someone clamped a dampened rag over my mouth and nose. Several hours later the drugs wore off and I found myself in an old rundown building tied to a chair with duct tape. I worked all night since my kidnapper was asleep, trying to free an arm so I could reach my cell phone. The next morning he left and I was able to get my left arm free and took the gag out of my mouth and called Bobby to let him know what had happened since I knew he was probably scared half out of his mind. Several minutes later he returned just as I stood up after managing to free myself from the rest of the tape that held me to the chair. He lunged at me and I was able to move out of the way before he got a hold of me and I ran for the door. I was just about there when I felt him pull me backwards and then spun me around to face him. The moment he spun me around, I took my free hand and tore the mask away from his face. After a sudden burst of angry words, he forced me to kiss him and he left out a sinister laugh followed by another round of shouting." Kim said, as she relived the events in her mind.  
  
As Kim continued on, she saw tears forming in Alex's blue eyes. As she listened to the hell Kim had been through, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt Ty's arm around her shoulder for support as she fought back the tears that were trying to escape. When Kim was finished, Alex looked at her and said, "How did you manage to escape? If it'd been me I would have flipped out and panicked, not even thinking about trying to do that."  
  
"Matty said one thing that pissed me off big time, which made me start to think rationally and gave me the means to free myself." Kim said as she remembered the event in vivid detail.  
  
"What was that?" Alex asked softly.  
  
"That I'd never see Bobby again. If he'd been planning on keeping me from him, that means that he'd be keeping me from Joey too, which I refused to let happen." Kim replied.  
  
"We'd better let you get some rest." Ty said as he and Alex stood up.  
  
"Ok." Kim replied; "Alex could you do something for me real quick?"  
  
"Sure. What do you need me to do?" Alex replied.  
  
"Find Jimmy and send him in." she said softly.  
  
"Sure, I'll send him in." Alex replied giving Kim's hand a reassuring squeeze.  
  
Ty and Alex left the room and headed towards the waiting area. Joey was asleep in Jimmy's lap, and Bobby was over getting a soda out of one of the machines. Ty went over to where Bobby was and began to talk to him, while Alex went over to where Jimmy and Joey were.  
  
"Hey Jimmy, Kim wants to see you." Alex said as she took a seat next to him.  
  
"She really asked to see me after everything I did to her?" Jimmy asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes she did. If I were you I'd go see what she wants. I'll watch Joey for you while your gone." she replied softly.  
  
Jimmy got up and placed his sleeping son in Alex's arms and headed towards Kim's room. The closer he got, the more nervous he felt as he neared her room. He stopped just shy of the door and began to wonder what she would say to him.  
  
"Jimmy, I know you're out there. Come on in." Kim said when she heard his footsteps stop just outside her room.  
  
"It's now or never." Jimmy said to himself as he entered her room and sat down in the chair beside her bed.  
  
"You had me worried sick." Jimmy started to say as he took his ex-wife's hand into his own.  
  
"I know, but remember you do the same thing to me every time you enter a burning building." she said giving his hand a reassuring squeeze that she was going to be ok.  
  
"How is Joey holding up?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Worried. Just like I was. He's used to me being the one in here, not you. So it was a bit of a shock for him when I told him that you were hurt." Jimmy said as he remembered telling his son that his mother had been hurt and was taken to the hospital.  
  
"How are things going with Brooke?" she asked.  
  
"Pretty good, although I've been a real pain lately with you missing and all. I don't think the feelings I have for you are ever going to go away, but all I want is for you to be truly happy. I said some things I shouldn't have when you and I last talked and I want you to know I'm sorry for everything that I did to hurt you." Jimmy said as he kissed the top of her hand.  
  
"I'm always going to have feelings for you too, primarily because you are the father of my son. But you deserve to be happy as well and I think that Brooke is the person you were meant to be with. I know what you said was out of anger and I accept your apology." she said softly.  
  
"You do?" he asked in surprise.  
  
"Yes, I do. What did you think I'd do? Hate you forever?" she replied.  
  
"I hate to admit it, but yeah. I thought you'd hate me after everything I did. You had every right to," he said back to her.  
  
"Jimmy, I could never hate you. Yes what you did was wrong but I'm not going to shut you out. Joey relies on you too much. There is no way I could keep you from him." she said in a comforting tone.  
  
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." Jimmy said as he realized that he would always have a place in Joey's life.  
  
"Can we still be friends since I'm still with Bobby?" she asked as she searched his face for an answer.  
  
"Absolutely." he replied smiling; "By the way how are things going between you and Bobby?"  
  
"It's been a long time since I've ever been this happy." she replied stifling back a yawn.  
  
"I'd better let you get some rest." Jimmy replied as he stood up  
  
"That's all that really matters to me now, that you are happy," he said as he tenderly kissed her on the forehead as she fell asleep.  
  
As Jimmy headed out to the waiting area he looked at Alex who was still holding Joey as she talked to Bobby who was sat next to her. He carefully picked up Joey and looked over at Bobby and said, "I owe you an apology."  
  
Bobby looked at Jimmy not believing what he had just heard.  
  
"What I said to you on the roof of the firehouse was wrong. You had every right to be pissed at me for what I did. I guess I thought if you were with her, I'd loose my place in Joey's life." he said as he thought back to the words Kim said to him earlier.  
  
"I could never take your place in Joey's life. You are his father, not me. Plus there is no way Kim could do that to you." Bobby replied, realizing Jimmy was actually sorry for what he had done.  
  
"I see that now. Anyone who can make her this happy deserves to be with her, and I think that you are that person. As much as I hate to admit it." Jimmy replied as he remembered all the hurtful things he'd said that day on the roof; "No hard feelings?"  
  
"None taken." Bobby replied  
  
"It's late, take your son home and rest and we can finish this later." Bobby said, as he looked at Joey asleep in Jimmy's arms.  
  
"Later." Jimmy said to everyone as he and his son headed home.  
  
The next day Bobby sat in the waiting room waiting for Kim to wake up. He'd been doing a lot of thinking the past several days and realized a lot of things. Things he knew he wanted but didn't know if they would actually come to pass. Bobby didn't hear the footsteps approaching him, until he felt a comforting arm on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Alex standing beside him.  
  
"How are you holding up?" she asked him as she sat down.  
  
"Pretty good considering everything that happened." he replied thinking about what he had decided this morning.  
  
"I've been doing a lot of thinking after everything that's happened lately, what I tell you stays between you and me only. Deal?" he asked as he looked over at Alex.  
  
"Deal," she replied as she settled in to listen.  
  
"I want to ask Kim to marry me, but I want you to help me pick out a ring. When it comes to jewelry I am completely lost." he said as he looked over at Alex.  
  
"Oh Bobby, that's wonderful!" she exclaimed as she gave him a hug; "I'd love to help you look at rings. When do you want to start?"  
  
"You free this afternoon?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, today is my day off." she replied.  
  
"How about we meet at 1:30 and start looking." Bobby replied.  
  
"Sounds good." Alex said with excitement.  
  
"I'm going to go see if Kim is up yet." Bobby replied as he stood up to head towards her room.  
  
"Ok, I'll wait here." She replied, as she thought of places they could go to look at rings.  
  
Bobby made his way down the corridor towards Kim's room, when he heard her talking to someone. He popped his head in the doorway of her room and found her talking on the phone. Bobby signaled for Alex that it was ok for her to come in.  
  
"Remember, not a word about what we talked about," Bobby whispered to Alex before entering the room.  
  
"How are you feeling today?" Bobby asked as he and Alex walked in the room.  
  
"Exhausted. Once the meds wear off there is no hope in trying to sleep with this shoulder." she replied tiredly.  
  
"That's what you get when you take a bullet for someone else." he said with a sly grin.  
  
"Alex, smack him for me please." Kim said laughing.  
  
Alex rolled her eyes and laughed and did what she was told.  
  
Hours went by as the three of them sat and talked. Before Bobby noticed the time, he looked down and saw that it was almost noon. A short time later a nurse appeared in the hallway and was getting together Kim's daily medications from the chart box.  
  
"After you are asleep, Alex and I are going to go get something to eat and we'll be back later to see you." Bobby said.  
  
"That's fine, these meds usually knock me out in thirty minutes, and I'm usually out for about six hours." she replied after she'd taken the pills.  
  
Sure enough by twelve-thirty Kim was out like a light and Bobby and Alex headed out to start looking at rings.  
  
By one in the afternoon they had been through three jewelry stores not seeing anything that struck them as the 'perfect' ring. Store after store, the two began to wonder if they would have better luck finding a ring online since all the places they had been to had turned up to be dead ends. Finally the last jeweler they went to was where they found what they had been looking for. Alex was looking in one case, when something caught her attention.  
  
"Hey Bobby, I think I have something over here." she called over her shoulder as she looked at the ring in the case.  
  
"Which one?" he asked, as he looked over her shoulder.  
  
"The white gold marquise cut diamond in the front." she replied.  
  
"Can you put that in layman's terms?" he said laughing.  
  
Just then a sales associate came over to see if there was something she could do to help.  
  
"Can I help you two?" the young woman asked politely.  
  
"Yes, I'd like to see this ring please." Alex said as she pointed to the ring she was implying about. As the woman removed the ring from the case and handed it to Alex, Bobby knew instantly that this was the ring he had been searching for.  
  
"What do you think?" Alex asked Bobby as she handed him the ring.  
  
"It's perfect," he said as he looked at the ring in the palm of his hand while smiling.  
  
"My thought's exactly." Alex said in agreement.  
  
After paying for the ring, the two took a taxi and headed back to the hospital. 


	19. Planning for the Future

Ty had met Alex at the hospital during his shift and took her home, while Bobby headed up to see how Kim was doing. When he arrived, Kim was still asleep and her mother sat beside her watching over her like a hawk. Bobby stepped inside the room and quietly spoke with her mother.  
  
"How are you holding up?" he asked softly.  
  
"Relieved that the injuries aren't severe, but thankful things weren't any worse than what they were." she replied back.  
  
"I know, I told her the same thing when they brought her out of surgery yesterday." he said, as he looked at her sleeping form and then back to her mother.  
  
"How long have you been here?" he asked.  
  
"Since two-thirty." she replied wearily.  
  
"Why don't you go get something to eat and take a break for a bit since its almost eight-thirty. I'll sit here with her while your gone." Bobby replied as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've already eaten so I'm in good shape," he replied.  
  
"Ok. I shouldn't be gone longer than an hour," she said as she stood up to go get something to eat.  
  
Bobby sat down in the chair at Kim's bedside and dozed off for about thirty minutes till he was awakened by the sound of footsteps. Realizing it was one of the nurses; he put his hand into his coat pocket and felt the velvet box containing the ring he would soon give to Kim when the timing was right. As he opened the box, the soft lights in the room caused the diamonds of the ring to sparkle. As he looked at Kim's sleeping form and back down at the ring, he knew the ring would be even more beautiful upon her hand, if she agreed to marry him.  
  
Just then Kim's mother returned and slipped quietly into the room. She saw Bobby looking into a small box, before he realized that she had entered the room.  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" she said smiling.  
  
"Yes it is." he replied quietly.  
  
Bobby stood up and let Kim's mother sit back down as he stood beside her.  
  
"When did you buy that?" she asked softly after taking a seat.  
  
"This afternoon after she went to sleep. Alex and I came by to visit at nine this morning and we left at twelve-thirty." he replied softly.  
  
"May I see?" her mother asked as she looked at the box he was holding.  
  
"Sure," he said smiling as he removed the ring from the box and placed it into her hand.  
  
"This is gorgeous. You and Alex did a wonderful job." she replied as she passed the ring back to him.  
  
"I haven't seen her this happy in a very long time." she said looking over at Bobby.  
  
"I know." He replied smiling as he glanced over at Kim who still slept peacefully beside them.  
  
Ten minutes later, the medicine began to wear off and she began to wake up.  
  
"Hey sleepyhead, what's up?" Bobby said smiling.  
  
"Not much. How long have you two been here?" she asked.  
  
"Your mother has been here since two-thirty and I got here at almost six- thirty." he replied.  
  
"I'd better head out, because I've still got to pick up Joey from Jimmy's place." her mother said as she stood up.  
  
"I'll come by tomorrow and once you're up to it, bring Joey by to see you." her mother said as she gave her daughter a hug before she left.  
  
"Tell Joey I miss him and I'll see him soon." Kim replied as her mother got ready to leave.  
  
When her mother had left, Bobby sat back down in the now empty chair as a sense of tiredness set in.  
  
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Kim asked in concern.  
  
"Not really. I kept having flashbacks to Matty beating you. Only this time he slashed your throat with the knife, not your arm." Bobby replied shakily as he tried to push the images out of his mind.  
  
Kim slowly scooted towards the other side of the bed and softly said, "You need your rest. Come lay with me."  
  
Bobby got up and put his coat in the small closet in the room and lay down next to Kim. She gingerly put her right arm around his midsection as he drifted off to sleep, comforted by having her next to him.  
  
He didn't wake up till the next morning, and he looked over at Kim who was still asleep as well. He decided not to wake her and went back to sleep for another hour or so. Alex and Ty dropped by to check up and see how Kim was doing. When they walked into the room, both looked at each other and smiled as Ty said, "Will you look at that."  
  
Kim heard the two of them talking and woke up.  
  
"Hey you two, come on in." she whispered.  
  
"How are you holding up?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm doing pretty good. Bobby on the other hand hasn't been himself since the incident at the firehouse." she replied as she looked at him sleeping next to her.  
  
Bobby began to stir as the three talked. Kim leaned over next to his ear and whispered, "Good morning sunshine."  
  
Hearing Kim's voice in his ear, he woke up and found Alex and Ty sitting by the bed.  
  
"Hey, how are you this morning?" Alex asked.  
  
"Much better after some needed sleep." Bobby replied as he laid his head back down on the pillow for a bit.  
  
The four of them talked for close to two hours till Ty and Alex had to leave for work.  
  
"Well, we'd better be off and get ready for work. I'll try and stop in if I get the chance during my shift." Alex said,  
  
"Ok, you two be careful out there." Kim said as she watched her two friends leave.  
  
"So, how did you sleep last night?" she asked as she returned her attention to Bobby.  
  
"Like a baby." he replied smiling.  
  
"How's your shoulder doing?" he asked.  
  
"It's feeling much better today." she replied smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
Just then the phone rang on the bedside table next to her. As Kim answered the phone, she found her mother on the other end wanting to know if she felt up to having her bring Joey over. She said that it would be great if she brought him over for a while to see her and they agreed to come over in about an hour. As Kim hung up the phone Bobby said, "Was that your mom?"  
  
"Yeah, she wanted to know if I felt up to having her bring Joey over." she replied.  
  
"When are they coming by?" he asked as he got up.  
  
"In about an hour." she replied, anxious to see her son since she'd been in the hospital.  
  
"In that case I'd better run by my place and take a shower and change, before they get here." he said as he reached for his coat in the closet and returned to the side of the bed.  
  
"I'll be back shortly," he said as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips before he left.  
  
As he left, Kim lay daydreaming of all the good times she and Bobby have had.  
  
"God I haven't been this happy in a long time." she said to herself as she remembered her first day at the 55, when she met Bobby for the first time.  
  
After a nice hot shower, Bobby got dressed and went to visit his mother before heading back to see Kim again. He and his mother talked for a bit before Bobby brought up the actual topic he had come to discuss with her. Once he found the right words to say he told his mother about his plans on asking Kim to marry him.  
  
"The real reason I came by, was to tell you that I am thinking of getting married." he began to say.  
  
She embraced her son in a warm hug and said, "That's wonderful! My Bobby finally get married."  
  
"Who's the lucky lady?" his mother asked.  
  
"It's Kim." He replied as a small smile played across his face.  
  
"Kim is such a wonderful young lady. I know you've liked her for a long time. I wish the two of you nothing but happiness." his mother replied as tears stung the corners of her eyes.  
  
"Thank you, it really means a lot to me to hear you say that." Bobby replied.  
  
"Oh, by the way. Have you seen your brother recently? Someone came by here looking for him," his mother said.  
  
Those words struck a nerve as his mother sat waiting for a response.  
  
"I saw him a several days ago." Bobby said as tears stung the corners of his eyes as the events of the past few days came back to his memory.  
  
"What's wrong?" his mother asked softly.  
  
As Bobby told her what transpired the past several days, he saw his mother's face drain of color at the words of what Matty had done to Kim. After several moments of silence his mother finely said, "Is she alright?"  
  
"She's in the hospital. She took the bullet Matty had intended for me when she shoved me out of the way." he said as he wiped some tears from his eyes.  
  
"Matty's dead isn't he?" his mother asked with a solemn expression on her face.  
  
"Yes." He replied quietly; "the police had no choice but to return fire once they had a clear shot."  
  
After spending several hours consoling his mother, he left and headed back to see how Kim was doing. Before arriving at the hospital, he stopped and picked up a dozen pink roses and a small stuffed bear and took them back to her room.  
  
When he arrived, he found her sleeping peacefully and placed the roses and the bear on the table beside her. She began to smell the fragrant aroma of fresh cut roses and rolled over to find Bobby sitting on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Where's the munchkin?" Bobby asked.  
  
"On his way. Jimmy let him stay up all night playing video games and when mom went to go get him, he was still asleep." she replied as she saw the flowers and bear sitting on the table.  
  
Ten minutes later Kim heard Joey talking to her mother as they walked down the corridor towards her room. Almost instantly Joey appeared in the doorway followed by her mother.  
  
"Mommy!" the little boy exclaimed as he ran to her bedside.  
  
Bobby got up and let Joey sit with his mother as he stood beside Kim's mother. Joey climbed up on the chair at the bedside and plopped down next to his mother.  
  
"I missed you so much!" Kim said to Joey as he carefully gave his mother a hug. 


	20. Reunion

Bobby watched the reunion between mother and son and felt tears forming as he thought of what Joey would have gone through if Kim had been seriously injured or even killed. Bobby loved Joey as if he were his own, since Jimmy had never been a constant father figure.  
  
Joey sat on the side of Kim's bed, moving the chair with his feet, as he talked non-stop about the all night video game session with Jimmy. When Joey hopped off the side of the bed, he accidentally pushed the chair back with enough force to cause Bobby's jacket to fall off the back of the chair. Before Bobby could react, Joey bent down and picked his jacket up off the floor and placed it back over the chair. Joey watched as a small black box tumbled from one of the front pockets of Bobby's coat and landed on the floor near his feet.  
  
Joey bent down and retrieved the box from the floor and looked up at Bobby. Kim watched in slow motion as the events played out before her eyes, but couldn't process what she was seeing happen because so many thoughts were racing through her head. Joey slowly opened the box as his curiosity overcame him. He looked down at the ring and looked up at Bobby as a huge smile crossed his face. He didn't understand what the ring meant, but he knew it was something good.  
  
Bobby bent down to eye level with Joey, as the little boy threw his arms around Bobby's neck and whispered, "Thank you for making mommy happy again."  
  
Those words coming from Joey meant the world to him. He felt tears forming again as he whispered back to Joey, "I've loved you and your mother for a very long time."  
  
Bobby picked up Joey and turned and looked at Kim who had begun to cry. Ty and Alex were on their way to visit, when they heard what sounded like someone crying coming from Kim's room. When they looked in the door, they saw Joey sitting on the right side of Kim's bed, Bobby sitting on the left side, and her mother sitting in the chair beside the bed.  
  
Ty looked over at Alex who had begun smiling as a tear slid down her cheek at the site before her.  
  
"Alex, what's going on?" Ty whispered.  
  
"Bobby's getting ready to propose." she replied quietly.  
  
Ty pulled Alex close and watched as Bobby began to speak.  
  
"You and I have known each other for a long time and like I told you before, you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I'd originally planned on doing this after you were released from the hospital, but thanks to Joey I've realized now is just a good a time as any." he began to say.  
  
After an emotional sigh, he continued.  
  
"Over the years our relationship has strengthened so much and you've helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. You never thought twice about helping me if I asked you. That night at the movies, I knew that you and I were meant to be together forever. I've loved you for as long as I can remember and that you and I ARE soul mates. You truly have touched my soul since the first day I met you, gave me a sense of feeling complete. Through good times and bad we were always there for each other. Would you do me this honor and become my wife?" he concluded as he searched her face for an answer.  
  
Kim could hardly believe the words she was hearing. She had dreamed of this for so long and now everything was falling into place, coming true at last. As Bobby waited for her answer, he glanced over at Joey who was wiping tears from his eyes. As soon as Kim regained her composure and could once again speak, she said with the smile that had always melted his heart, "Of course I'll marry you."  
  
Bobby slipped the ring on her finger and leaned over and gently kissed her. Kim heard someone whispering and found Alex and Ty in the doorway wiping tears from their eyes. Bobby motioned for them to come in and they entered and stood at the foot bed.  
  
"How long were you guys there?" Kim asked as she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.  
  
"We saw the whole thing." Alex said smiling as she went over to give Bobby and Kim a hug.  
  
When she embraced Bobby, she quietly said into his ear, "I told you she'd like it."  
  
Kim barely heard what Alex had said but knew she'd known about this some how.  
  
"Hey Alex, what part did you have in all of this?" she asked smiling.  
  
"All I did was help pick out the ring. Bobby did the rest on his own." she said as she gave Kim a hug.  
  
"Any idea when you can go home?" Alex asked.  
  
"How about this afternoon?" came a voice from the hallway.  
  
Kim looked up at the doctor in surprise and said, "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes, but you'll still be off from work for about two more weeks. But other than that your doing well enough to where you can go home and be with your family." he replied smiling.  
  
The doctor left the room and went to get started on the discharge paper for her and returned thirty minutes later to go over the home care instructions with her. A few minutes later a nurse came in and removed the IV in her hand and she was free to go.  
  
After changing clothes, the group made their way out of the hospital talking excitedly about the future.  
  
Ty, Alex, and Bobby stood outside talking in the parking lot, while Kim, her mother and Joey talked briefly. Kim's mother took Joey back over to her apartment and Ty and Alex headed to their respective homes to start getting ready for work. Bobby and Kim took their time heading back to her apartment, talking excitedly about when they first realized the feelings they felt for the other were more than best friend type feelings.  
  
When they arrived at her apartment, she put her things in her room and turned around to Bobby and said, "You don't know how long I've been dreaming of this happening."  
  
"Nothing can ever come between us," he said softly, as he gently brought his lips to hers.  
  
As the kiss ended Kim looked up at Bobby and said, "At least I'll have something to do instead of laying around the apartment all day for two weeks."  
  
Bobby picked her up and sat her down on the edge of the bed and said, "So, what will you be doing over your two week break?"  
  
"For starters, I've to start looking at dresses." she said smiling as she lay down beside him.  
  
"Can I tag along too?" He replied laughing.  
  
"No can do. You don't get to see the dress until the day we get married." she said as she looked into the depths of his brown eyes.  
  
"You mean you'd leave me in suspense to find out how beautiful you are going to look?" he replied in mock disappointment.  
  
"American tradition," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Let's go out for dinner this evening to celebrate our engagement," he said as he relished the feeling of having her next to him.  
  
"Sounds wonderful." she replied with a dreamy expression on her face.  
  
"What are you in the mood for tonight?" he asked softly.  
  
"How about Italian?" she replied softly.  
  
"Sounds perfect." Bobby replied as he held her close.  
  
"I'm going to go take a shower and get ready and we can head out. Ok?" she said as she sat up next to him.  
  
"I'll be here waiting." he said with a grin as he watched her leave the room.  
  
Kim took a quick shower and washed her hair, but couldn't stop looking at the exquisite ring Bobby had given her. The marquise center stone diamond was in a two pronged setting, with two smaller trillion side diamonds in a three prong setting and six round diamond accents all on a 14k white gold band. After drying her hair and combing it out, she slipped into a baby blue shirt and a pair of form fitting jeans and rejoined Bobby in her room.  
  
While she had been in the shower, Bobby had gotten up and called his mother to let her know that he was indeed going to be marrying Kim, and that they would be coming by later to visit. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Bobby looking out her bedroom window, while talking on his cell phone. Kim slowly made her way across the room and wrapped her arms around his midsection. He finished up his conversation with his mother and turned around and pulled her close.  
  
"Who were you talking to?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"My mother. She wants us to come by and visit." Bobby replied.  
  
"Then let's not keep her waiting." Kim said as she placed a gentle kiss on Bobby's lips.  
  
The two headed out of her apartment and took a taxi over to his mother's place. As they headed towards Bobby's mothers apartment, they walked hand in hand talking non-stop about their upcoming marriage and continued talking after they had knocked on the door to the apartment when they arrived. Bobby's mother went to the door, not expecting for Kim and Bobby to have come so quickly. She welcomed her son and Kim into her apartment and the three sat down in the living room to talk. After discussing how Kim was doing after her discharge from the hospital earlier in the afternoon, the subject was then changed to the upcoming marriage between Kim and her son. Bobby's mother looked at the 14k white gold ring that her son had given to Kim and said, "I've always considered you a part of this family, due to the close relationship you've always had with my son."  
  
Kim smiled at the comment and replied, "Thank you. I've always considered you and Bobby to be an extended family of sorts."  
  
After talking for another hour and a half, Kim and Bobby left and headed out for a romantic Italian dinner. The primary dinner conversation was again about their upcoming marriage and getting ideas on where the ceremony should be held. After dinner the two walked hand in hand back to Kim's apartment since it wasn't far from where they had eaten dinner. When they arrived back at her place, they sat outside on the front steps of the building for a while and just talked like they normally did at work.  
  
Bobby glanced down at his watch and said, "I'd better be heading back to my place, it's getting late."  
  
"Why don't you stay with me tonight? Joey is with my mom so we'll have the place to ourselves." she replied softly.  
  
"Ok. But I still have to run by my place and get my stuff together for work." he replied.  
  
"I'll leave the door unlocked for you." she replied as she stood up.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in approval and gave her a kiss before he headed to get his things for work the next day. 


	21. Spanish Flaire

Kim went up to her apartment and called Alex to see if she wanted to go with her to look at wedding dresses tomorrow. Alex agreed and the two arranged to meet at the firehouse at three. Kim changed into a pair of cotton shorts and spaghetti strapped top, and waited for to Bobby return. Kim went into her son's room and put away the clothes she had washed for him before the incident at the firehouse. Five minutes later Bobby returned to Kim's apartment and let himself in. After placing his things in her room, he slipped his coat off and laid it across one of the chairs by the window, and noticed several pictures sitting on the dresser and went over to look at them.  
  
Most of the pictures were of Kim and Joey, except for one. The one picture was of the three of them at the park, which had been taken several days before Kim had gotten kidnapped. As his mind drifted back to that moment he didn't hear Kim come into the room. She saw Bobby looking at the picture of the three of them at the park and began to smile. She looked down at the ring on her finger and realized she had found true happiness with Bobby. She silently walked over to her bed and picked up one of the small pillows and tossed it at Bobby. His concentration broken when he felt the small pillow hit his back, and hearing Kim trying not to laugh.  
  
Before Bobby turned around to face her, she got up and headed for the closet next to where he was standing. When he turned around he had expected to see Kim sitting on the edge of the bed, but she wasn't. When he turned back to the pictures, he saw Kim going through her closet picking out an outfit to wear the next day. He went over and slipped his arms around her waist and watched as she looked through the vast sea of clothes in the closet. Something caught his eye as she went through the shirts that were hung up. He spotted a red matté dress that reminded him of the type of dress a salsa dancer would wear because of the way it was angled up on one side of the skirt.  
  
"Where did you get that dress?" he asked her curiously.  
  
"I've had that one for some time, but never had an opportunity to wear it," she replied as she removed the dress from the closet.  
  
"You want to see me in this, don't you?" she said smiling.  
  
"The thought crossed my mind." He replied as he looked out at the quiet city below.  
  
Kim slipped into the dress which still clung to her body like it had when she bought it so very long ago. She walked over towards the window where Bobby was standing, and he caught a glimpse of her reflection from the glass as he turned around.  
  
"What do you think?" she asked as she crossed the room towards him.  
  
"You look stunning in that dress." He replied, after trying to find the right words to say.  
  
He watched her coming towards him, the dress hugged her body in all the right places, which was driving him crazy. He'd seen her in a dress dozens of times, but never one like this. The sight of her just about took his breath away. As he slipped his arms around her waist, he had to force himself to control the emotions he felt. She saw in his eyes his true feelings for her as he cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her. She knew she was driving him wild and could tell that by the way he was kissing her.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally said, "If this is too fast for you, let me know and I'll stop."  
  
"You're fine. I would have said something if things were moving too fast." she replied softly as she put her arms around his neck and pulled his head to hers.  
  
He slowly began to undo the zipper of the dress and literally had to peel it from her, it fit her so well. She slipped his shirt off his body and let it fall to the floor alongside the dress. In a matter of moments both were caught up in a rush of emotions and what appeared to be minutes passing were actually hours. Several hours later Bobby collapsed next to Kim as exhaustion took over both of their bodies.  
  
The next day the two didn't get up till close to noon, as sunlight burst into the room from behind one of the skyscrapers that dotted the skyline. He looked over at Kim who was still sound asleep next to him and was entranced by her natural beauty. It was one of the features about her, he had always found attractive. He slowly got out of bed and headed off to take a shower before she got up.  
  
Thirty minutes later, Kim began to stir and woke up to the sound of water running. She quickly got dressed and headed into the kitchen and put a bagel in the toaster and fixed herself a glass of orange juice. After his shower, he headed back to Kim's room to get the clothes he had brought with him the night before. After finishing her bagel she went back to her room to see what Bobby wanted for breakfast and found him going through the bag he had brought with him the night before wearing only a towel around his waist. She stood in the doorway watching as images from the previous night entered her mind. Sensing he wasn't alone, he turned around and saw her standing in the doorway.  
  
"Good afternoon." she said smiling, unable to take her eyes off him.  
  
"Didn't anyone ever tell you its not polite to stare?" he replied laughing.  
  
"You obviously don't practice what you preach," she said with a sly grin as she leaned against the doorframe.  
  
"Oh really?" he said in amusement.  
  
"What have you got to back that up?" he replied again trying to keep a straight face.  
  
"Close your eyes and you'll find out." she said back.  
  
He closed his eyes, wondering what this had to do with her proving her point. Once she was sure his eyes were closed, she headed over and picked up the red dress from the floor and put it back on.  
  
"Ok, open your eyes," she told him, still standing behind him.  
  
When he opened his eyes, he expected to see Kim in front of him, but she wasn't. When he turned around and saw her in the dress again he felt like a teenage schoolboy, because all he could do is stare at her.  
  
"I rest my case," she said laughing at his reaction, going over to where he stood.  
  
"Since when was it a crime to stare at a beautiful woman in a sexy dress?" he said innocently.  
  
"I never said it was a crime silly," she said as she pushed him down on the bed.  
  
As he fell back onto the bed, he wrapped his arms around Kim's waist and brought her down with him.  
  
"I hate to bust your bubble, but you don't exactly have time for a second go around." she said as she lay on his chest.  
  
"Why not?" he replied in mock disappointment.  
  
"Because unless you plan on being on-time for work, I suggest you start getting dressed," she said laughing.  
  
Realizing she was right, he gently kissed her and rolled her off his chest so he could get ready for work.  
  
"What are your plans for the day?" he asked.  
  
"Starting to look at wedding dresses." She replied as she picked up her clothes and headed for the bathroom for a shower.  
  
Ten minutes later she emerged from the bathroom already dressed and headed back to her room to put the red dress back in the closet. She grabbed her purse and keys and met Bobby in the living room. The two headed out to visit Joey for a bit before heading off to the station. Kim walked in with Bobby as usual into the firehouse where they were met with a round of applause and catcalls. Kim began to blush and Bobby just shook his head and laughed.  
  
"So it's finally official," one of the firefighters said.  
  
"Yep," Bobby replied as everyone gathered around Kim to look at the ring. Bobby went up and put his stuff away and rejoined the group that was still huddled around Kim looking at the ring on her hand. Alex walked into the firehouse and saw the huddle of men crowded around Kim looking at her ring and laughed to herself. Just then the first call of the day came in and everyone dispersed from the huddle and ran for their gear. Bobby gave Kim a quick kiss and dashed out to the bus and followed the trucks to the call.  
  
"Shall we be off to look at dresses?" Alex asked.  
  
"Absolutely," Kim replied as she and Alex left the firehouse and started the process of finding the perfect wedding dress.  
  
There were so many beautiful dresses to pick from, it was going to come down to which dress made her look like a princess and which dress she thought would blow Bobby's mind yet still be affordable as well. The first four stores the women went to didn't have anything that caught their attention. After a brief lunch break the two women resumed the hunt for the perfect dress. The next several stores held possibilities but once Kim tried them on she didn't like the way the dresses looked on her. Finally the last store they went to, both Alex and Kim found a total of six possible dresses that fit the bill for what they needed. As Kim tried each of them on, she liked several of the dresses but as she looked at herself in the floor length mirror, she knew the perfect dress was still out there.  
  
As Alex waited for her to try the next dress on, something on one of the racks caught her attention. A white luster satin princess line gown with a scooped neckline and spaghetti straps accented with multi-colored stones as well as crystal beading and appeared to have a semi-cathedral train but she couldn't tell with it just hanging on a rack. As Kim came out in the next dress, she saw Alex no longer in the room and went ahead and looked at herself in the mirror. A heavy sigh escaped her as she decided this wasn't the dress she wanted and headed off to change when Alex came back carrying the dress she'd found.  
  
"Try this one," Alex said smiling as she handed the dress to Kim.  
  
She took the dress from Alex and headed back into the fitting room to try it on. Several minutes later, Kim emerged beaming and said, "I think we have a winner." She looked at herself in the floor length mirror and realized this was the dress she had been looking for. Alex looked at her best friend smiling and replied, "I think you're right." After paying for the dress, they headed outside to get a cab to take back to her apartment complex.  
  
"Wanna come with me to show the dress to mom and Joey?" Kim asked, while they waited for a cab.  
  
"Sure," Alex replied smiling.  
  
"One question though. How are you going to keep Bobby from seeing your dress?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm going to see if I can leave it in one of the back closets at my moms till we get married." she replied back.  
  
"Good idea. Because we don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet." Alex replied laughing, as they slid into the cab that had stopped.  
  
A short time later the cab stopped in front of her apartment complex and the two women got out and headed up to Kim's mother's apartment. Kim knocked on the door and stood talking to Alex as they waited for someone to let them in. Kim didn't even notice the door open until she heard Joey running towards her.  
  
"Mommy!" the little boy exclaimed as he ran over to her side.  
  
"Hey baby, how are you?" Kim replied.  
  
"Good. What's in the bag?" Joey asked.  
  
"Let's go inside and I'll show you." she replied as they entered the apartment. 


	22. Love and Happiness

"Joey, go get grandma and bring her in here. Ok?" Kim said to her son as they headed towards the living room of her mother's apartment.  
  
"Ok." he replied as he ran off to find his grandmother.  
  
Kim turned back to Alex and said, "I'm going to go slip this on, stall them till I'm ready."  
  
Alex nodded her head and watched Kim head down the hall with the dress as she went into one of the spare rooms to change. Minute's later Joey returned to the living room followed by his grandmother.  
  
"Where'd mommy go?" Joey asked Alex.  
  
"She'll be back in a minute, she's got a surprise for you." Alex replied as Joey hopped onto the couch next to her.  
  
Alex began talking to Kim's mother when she heard a door open down the hall. She knew Kim had the dress on and turned to Joey and said, "Hey Joey, look down the hallway."  
  
Joey turned his head towards the hallway where his mother now stood. The little boy's eyes lit up when he saw how pretty his mother looked in the wedding dress she'd just bought. Kim's mother felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she looked at her daughter in the dress she'd just bought.  
  
"What do you think?" Kim asked her mother and son.  
  
Joey looked at his mother in the white dress and said, "You look like an angel."  
  
Everyone began to laugh as Alex whispered into Joey's ear, "Joey that's the dress your mom's going to wear when she marries Bobby."  
  
"Really!" the little boy exclaimed.  
  
"Yep, but you can't tell Bobby about the dress, it's a surprise. Ok?" Alex replied.  
  
"Ok, I want to see his reaction anyway." Joey said laughing.  
  
Everyone in the room began to laugh at Joey's excitement of Bobby seeing her in the dress.  
  
"It is ok if I leave the dress here so Bobby can't see it?" Kim asked her mother.  
  
"Sure, put it in one of the closets in one of the backrooms." she replied to her daughter.  
  
Kim headed off to change and put the dress in one of the closets till it was time for her to wear it again. A short time later she rejoined her mother, Alex and Joey in the living room and they sat and talked for another hour or so.  
  
"It's getting late, we'd better be going." Kim said to her mother after glancing down at her watch.  
  
Kim's mother walked the three of them to the door and bid them a goodnight and went to get ready for bed herself.  
  
"Hey Alex, do you want to come up for a bit?" Kim asked.  
  
"Maybe some other time, Ty should be getting off from work pretty soon." she replied.  
  
"Ok, have a nice evening." Kim said back as she and Joey headed for her apartment.  
  
Once they were home, Kim turned to her son and said, "What do you want to do for the rest of the evening?"  
  
"Let's play video games!" he said excitedly.  
  
"Pick the game and I'll be in shortly." Kim replied as she went to put some things up in her room.  
  
"Ok." Joey replied as he went through the crate containing the video games that sat beside the television in the living room.  
  
Kim quickly put up a basket of laundry while her son debated on what game he and his mother would play. When she finished putting up the clothes, she glanced at the picture of her, Bobby and Joey together and felt a comforting warmth spread through her.  
  
"Have you picked a game yet?" Kim asked her son.  
  
"Yep. You ready?" he asked happily.  
  
"You better bet," she replied, taking a seat next to her son on the floor.  
  
"Is Bobby coming over after work?" Joey asked his mother.  
  
"I don't know. He got a call before he could tell me if he was coming over or not." she replied softly.  
  
After an hour and a half of video games Joey wore himself out and Kim sent him off to take a shower and get ready for bed. Kim curled up on the sofa to relax a bit, after putting Joey to bed and picking up a book off the bookshelf when she entered the living room. Two hours later she heard a faint knock at her door and quickly went to the door and saw Bobby on her doorstep. She let him in and walked with him over to the sofa and sat down.  
  
"How was work tonight?" she asked.  
  
"Long and tiring as usual." he replied.  
  
"What have you done all day?" he said back to her.  
  
"Not much, basic household chores, looked at wedding dresses and visited with mom for a bit." she replied, noticing how tense Bobby looked as he sat beside her.  
  
"I think you could use a massage to help relax," she said noticing him jump slightly at the sound of her voice  
  
"You've been watching Oprah again haven't you?" he asked her as he chuckled a bit.  
  
"Nope, haven't watched it in a while, although I got the concept from the show eons ago." she replied laughing.  
  
"Well, if your offering to do the honors I could use one." he said back laughing.  
  
"Take your shirt off and stretch out on the floor on your stomach." she said, as she went to retrieve some lotion from her room.  
  
When she returned with several containers of lotion for him to pick from, he looked up at her and said, "I sure hope that stuff is unscented."  
  
"No such luck. I don't even own unscented lotion. Your choices are Ocean Breeze, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Pear Glace, and Sunripened Raspberry." she said as she placed each container in front of him.  
  
He took a few whiffs of some of the lotions and said, "How on earth can you stand the smell of some of these?"  
  
"Trust me, I've got one that I love using that I know you'd hate so that's why I didn't include it with the others." she said giggling at him.  
  
"Use the vanilla one, it's the one I can actually tolerate the smell of." he replied as he grabbed a pillow from the couch to rest his head on.  
  
She straddled his lower back and began to put some of the lotion on him. He jumped beneath her slightly as the cold lotion touched his back, and he craned his head around and said, "Any way you can warm that stuff up?"  
  
She laughed at his reaction and said sarcastically, "Sorry, I forgot to warm it after I got it out of the fridge."  
  
"Please tell me your joking," he replied, thinking she was going to put more of the lotion on him.  
  
"Yes, silly I'm joking. Now turn around and relax or I'll put more cold lotion on you." she said trying not to laugh.  
  
He did as he was told and she slowly spread the lotion out on his back with her hands before starting the actual massage. She slowly moved her hands up his spine towards his shoulders and back down and slowly began to move out towards his ribs as she gently kneaded her fingertips into his back. After about five minutes, Bobby could tell a huge difference in the tension level of his body. Thirty minutes later, she was finished and said, "How do you feel know?"  
  
"A lot more relaxed than when I came in." he replied with a sound of calmness in his voice.  
  
"Then my job is done," she said smiling as she stood up and sat down on the edge of the couch.  
  
"I think I could get used to you doing that more often." he said as he got up from the floor and sat beside her on the couch.  
  
"Just remember, I might ask you to return the favor when I start back to work." she said laughing slightly.  
  
"Sounds fair." he replied as he pulled her over into his lap.  
  
The two sat on the couch in the comfort of each others warm embrace for close to an hour, when Kim felt Bobby put his head on her shoulder as he just about dozed off.  
  
"Come on, lets get you to bed so you can rest." she said as she took his hand and began to pull him up from the couch.  
  
"Can I take a quick shower first?" he asked.  
  
"If you do you'll feel greasy because of the lotion." She replied over her shoulder to him.  
  
"In that case I'll wait till in the morning." he said as he followed her towards her room.  
  
"Are the clothes I left still here?" he asked when they entered the room.  
  
"Yep, top drawer of the dresser." she replied.  
  
He nodded his head in response and opened the drawer and removed a T-shirt and a pair of boxers and headed into the bathroom to change.  
  
While he was gone, Kim changed into a spaghetti strapped top and a pair of sweatpants and pulled back the covers on her bed. Minutes later he returned to her room and placed his clothes in a chair and slipped into bed beside Kim. She flipped off the bedside lamp and curled up along side Bobby and fell asleep.  
  
The next morning Joey woke up early and quietly made his way into the living room to play a few rounds of video games. As he passed his mothers room, he peeked in and saw his mother sleeping peacefully along side of Bobby. A huge smile crept across his face as he headed on to the living room, thinking about how wonderful it was that she had finally found the person that made her truly happy.  
  
Thirty minutes later Bobby was awakened by the sound of laughter coming from the living room. He slipped out of bed quietly so he wouldn't bother Kim and headed for the living room to see what was going on. Joey heard footsteps coming and paused the game he was playing to see who it was. He saw Bobby walk into the living room and take a seat on the couch.  
  
"Awfully early for video games isn't it?" Bobby asked Joey.  
  
"Not really." The little boy replied grinning; "Wanna play?"  
  
"Sure, why not." Bobby replied as he took a seat next to Joey on the floor and reached for the second game controller.  
  
An hour later Kim awoke to the sounds of squealing tires and crashing metal.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" she said to herself as she got out of bed.  
  
She followed the source of the sounds till she saw Joey and Bobby in the floor playing video games.  
  
"You two making enough noise in here?" she asked smiling.  
  
"Sorry if we woke you up." Bobby replied as he focused on the racecar he was driving.  
  
Kim stretched out on the sofa behind her son and Bobby and watched the ensuing race.  
  
"You know, for his age he drives a car rather well." Bobby said laughing.  
  
Kim lightly punched him in the shoulder and replied, "Don't tell me you want to start teaching him how to drive now."  
  
"Really!" Joey exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"Maybe when you're older munchkin." Bobby said smiling.  
  
"Who you calling a munchkin?" Joey said laughing.  
  
"You." Bobby said, ruffling his hair.  
  
Joey pounced on Bobby and started laughing.  
  
"Someone's in a feisty mood this morning." Kim said giggling as she went to help Bobby  
  
Kim began to tickle her son who was laughing so hard he stopped rough housing with Bobby and said, " Mom. st.ooo.pppp"  
  
She finally stopped and got back up on the sofa, as Joey headed back to where his game controller sat and said, "You ready?"  
  
"Bring it on." Bobby said as Joey unpaused the game.  
  
After about twenty minutes more of racing between Joey and Bobby, Kim said, "Whoever wins this race, gets to race me."  
  
By the end of the final race, Bobby beat Joey by the barest of margins and Kim switched places with her son and got ready to take on Bobby. Joey sat perched on the couch in between them, watching his mother get ready for her race. After the race had started Bobby said, "So, who do you think is gonna win Joey?"  
  
Joey looked over at his mother and back over at Bobby when he replied, "I think mommy's gonna win."  
  
Kim laughed as she maneuvered her car around the racetrack while Bobby tried to catch her. By the time they hit the last lap, Joey sat anxiously on the couch waiting to see if his prediction was right about who would win. Bobby drew along side of Kim but wasn't paying attention to the turn that was coming up and slammed into the retaining wall as Kim crossed the line the winner.  
  
"I think I see a resemblance to your driving in the bus." Kim said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh really?" Bobby replied in amusement.  
  
Before Kim could react, Bobby pushed her down to the floor, pinning her arms and legs down when he said, "Hey Joey. Tickle Attack!"  
  
Joey pounced on his mother while Bobby held her down as laughter filled the room.  
  
Several minutes later Bobby let go of Kim and pulled Joey off his mother and laughingly said, "I think she's had enough for now."  
  
"You'll pay for that later." Kim said as she poked him in the stomach as she sat up.  
  
"Anyone want to go out to eat for lunch?" Joey asked.  
  
"You buying?" Bobby replied laughing.  
  
"If I could I would." Joey said giggling.  
  
"I'll pay for lunch. Joey go get ready and we'll head out." Kim said.  
  
She ran in and took a quick shower, washed her hair and blow dried it and got dressed and straightened up her room while Bobby got ready for work. Once the three of them were ready, they all headed out together for a relaxing lunch. An hour later the three walked towards the firehouse where Joey saw his father helping wash one of the trucks.  
  
Jimmy didn't see the three of them coming, until Bobby picked up Joey, who covered his fathers eyes with his hands as Kim said, "Guess who?"  
  
"Uh, one of Santa's elves?" Jimmy replied laughing.  
  
"Hey! Not funny." Joey replied as the group of people around the truck began to laugh.  
  
"Go on inside and I'll be up as soon as I'm done with the truck." Jimmy said to Kim and Joey. 


	23. Intuition

Kim, Joey and Bobby all sat at the round kitchen table talking, when the rest of the firefighters joined them after finishing up with the truck. Several hours later, Kim and Joey left to head back home for the rest of the day. Bobby and Jimmy both walked out with her and Joey to the front of the station and bid them farewell and watched as she and her son headed home.  
  
The day was another slow one for the firefighters until much later that night. As for the paramedic's, their shift was fairly busy with routine calls. The big call of the evening came when an explosion occurred at a gas station where there was a motor vehicle accident that had taken place right in front of it involving two cars. One of the fuel tanks in one of the cars had ruptured, sending gasoline in the direction of the pumps at the gas station. All it took was a single spark to ignite the trail of gas, luckily the owner of the station had shut off the pumps when the accident happened, even though there was a person refueling at the time.  
  
The person refueling never heard the warnings to get out of the way because of the walk-man that was blaring music. As the trail of gas kept igniting closer and closer to where the person was standing, the only apparent way to avert a catastrophe was to physically move the person away from the car since they obviously couldn't hear the warnings. Bobby had noticed the young man not responding to the warnings the fire department shouted and had a feeling things were going to take a turn for the worse. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jimmy start running towards the young man but was too far away to make it in time. Instinctively, Bobby took off towards the young man, the ignited gas trail getting too close to the hose of the gas pump for comfort.  
  
Right when Bobby got to him, the flames began to lick at the hose and the two ran a short distance before Bobby heard Jimmy yell for everyone to take cover. An explosion was coming. Bobby pushed the man to the ground and shielded him as car exploded, raining down fiery pieces of debris around them. After getting up from the ground, he helped the young man up and headed over to where Alex was standing. After the fire was under control Jimmy headed over to where Alex and Bobby were checking out the young man making sure he was ok.  
  
After everything was taken care of at the accident site, and all the injured were attended to and transported to the hospital, it was finally time to call it a night. Back at the firehouse everyone was gathering their things after returning from the last call of the night. Bobby had just gotten his things from his locker and was on his way out of the station when Jimmy came over to him.  
  
"That was a gusty run you made at that kid at the gas station," he said as he leaned against one of the trucks in the bay.  
  
"Yeah. Somebody had to do it because you wouldn't have gotten to him in time." Bobby replied.  
  
"Your lucky Kim wasn't there or she would have probably given you the same lecture I get about taking risks." Jimmy replied laughing.  
  
"Yeah, but you take risks all the time, I take them when it's called for." he replied as he headed out into the cool night air towards his apartment.  
  
Kim was curled up in bed reading a book while she waited for Bobby to either call or come over. Two hours after she hadn't heard anything from him she called his apartment but got no answer. She placed the phone by her on the bed and went back to reading for thirty more minutes before calling again. When she called back, she thought he had picked up but as she listened to the noise in the background she realized she heard a fight going on in his apartment. She quickly called her mother to see if she could come up and stay with Joey while she went to check on Bobby to make sure he was ok after what she had heard in the background of the phone. Within minutes her mother had arrived and Kim took off for Bobby's apartment, calling Faith and Bosco enroute to let them know what she had heard.  
  
Ten minutes later Kim arrived at Bobby's and stood outside waiting for Faith and Bosco. She fought the instinct to go on her own and knew it would be too dangerous for her alone if there was a fight going on in there. Five minutes later Faith and Bosco pulled up and the three of them dashed up the stairs towards his apartment. As they cautiously made their way down the corridor to his room, they could hear voices fighting in Spanish but couldn't recognize any of them. The door to his apartment was cracked and Kim peered through, seeing that his apartment had been ransacked. Fear grew within her, not knowing whether Bobby was hurt or ok.  
  
Bosco kicked open the door to find a group of six masked men beating up Bobby who was gagged and duct taped to prevent him from fighting back or calling for help. The men dropped Bobby and fled towards the fire escape. Bosco went to the stairs and headed outside, while Faith followed the group to the fire escape. Kim ran over to Bobby and fell to her knees beside him as she undid the tape on his feet and wrists and carefully removed the tape from his mouth. After helping him to his feet, she helped him over to the sofa and went and dampened a washcloth so he could wipe the blood from his face.  
  
"How did you know what was going on?" Bobby asked her when she returned.  
  
"I called twice, the first time no one answered and the second time I heard what sounded like a fight in the background and got over here as fast as I could." She replied back softly.  
  
Minutes later Faith and Bosco returned after capturing two of the six men to check and see how Bobby was doing. After giving his statement to the police, he headed into the bathroom to cleaned himself up a bit before heading back to where Kim was sitting.  
  
"Till this is sorted out, you're staying with me," she replied when he sat back down next to her.  
  
"I'll be fine here, don't worry." he replied back to her, hoping to ease her anxiety.  
  
"You had six unwanted houseguests when you got home. There is a reason why they were here, and until that's revealed your staying with me," she said back to him, hoping he'd see to reason.  
  
Knowing he wasn't going to win this battle, he relented and said, "How long will I be staying with you?"  
  
"As long as it takes to figure out what's going on, or until it's safe enough for you to return here." she replied.  
  
Bobby headed for his room to pack some clothes for his stay with Kim and told the officers where he would be if they needed to reach him and turned and left with her to return to her apartment. When they arrived, Bobby went straight to the bathroom to take a shower and change while Kim talked to her mother before she left. A short time later, Kim's mother left and went back to her apartment and Kim peeked in on her sleeping son and headed back to her room to free up a drawer for Bobby's things in the dresser.  
  
Ten minutes later Bobby returned to Kim's room and sat down beside her.  
  
"The second drawer of the dresser is all yours," she said as she saw the bruises starting to form on his face and chest.  
  
"Do you have any idea who those men were?" she asked as she placed the book she'd been reading on the nightstand.  
  
"I think that they might have been friends of Matty's." he replied back as he finished putting his clothes in the dresser and stretched out next to her in bed.  
  
Kim flipped of the bedside light and gently kissed Bobby before falling asleep with her right arm draped over his chest.  
  
The next morning, Kim woke up first and rolled over and removed a small notebook from the nightstand that she'd been keeping with ideas for the wedding. Thirty minutes later Bobby began to wake up and looked over at Kim who was busily writing down more ideas.  
  
"What are you up to?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Writing down ideas for the wedding," she replied, glancing over at him.  
  
"Want to go ahead and set dates and stuff?" he asked.  
  
"Sure," she replied smiling as she reached over to the nightstand and found a small calendar.  
  
After a bit of deliberation they both agreed to getting married in one month and decided on a location to hold the ceremony at and Bobby called over and made the necessary arrangements, while Kim began to think of bridesmaids dresses. She looked through a magazine of formal dresses, trying to find the perfect color to have the bridesmaids' dresses done in. One color almost jumped off the page at her, as she looked at the picture, she knew that was the color she'd use for the dresses. After jotting down a note that the bridesmaids' dresses would be dragonfly in color, she saw Bobby come back into the room. As he sat back down beside her, he said "Now, where to we want to go after the wedding?"  
  
"Ever been to the Bahamas?" she asked.  
  
"Nope, but I've always wanted to go down there though." he replied back.  
  
"Wanna go?" she asked, grinning.  
  
"Like I could say no." he replied laughing.  
  
"The Bahamas it is then." She said smiling, as she jotted down the honeymoon location in the notebook.  
  
"Did you ever find the perfect wedding dress?" he asked her curiously.  
  
"As a matter of fact I did, but you still don't get to see it for another month." She replied with a sly grin.  
  
"Now what am I supposed to do to prepare myself for what you're going to look like." he asked her jokingly.  
  
"Use your imagination. You've got a good one of those, so it should be a piece of cake." she replied laughing as he pulled her onto his chest.  
  
"I still can't believe how lucky I am to have met you so long ago when you first came to the station." he said quietly.  
  
"I know. I feel the same way." She replied as she rested her chin on his chest.  
  
An hour later, they finished up the remainder of the planning they were doing for the day, and agreed to pick back up where they left off that evening or the next morning.  
  
"What do you want for breakfast?" Kim asked as she began to get up.  
  
"You have bagels?" he asked.  
  
"You better bet. What kind of bagel do you want." She asked him.  
  
"What kind?" he replied quizzically.  
  
"Yeah, you know like, plain, cinnamon apple, blueberry, poppyseed, etc.," she said back.  
  
As a look of confusion crossed his face, she laughingly said, "Get in here and look at the bags, maybe that will help you decide."  
  
"I've always considered a bagel to be just a bagel regardless of the kind it is." He replied laughing as he followed her towards the kitchen.  
  
Kim got out the bags of bagels and grabbed a cinnamon apple bagel for herself and put it in the toaster as he continued to look at the bags. She put on a pot of coffee and headed over to get the cream cheese out of the fridge and said, "What kind of cream cheese do you want." She saw the same look cross his face when they were discussing bagels and began to laugh.  
  
"You don't go shopping much do you?" she asked as she removed three containers of cream cheese from fridge.  
  
"Nope. Is it that noticeable?" he asked.  
  
"Oh yeah." she replied laughing.  
  
"After breakfast, you want to go for a morning run in the park?" she asked as she put strawberry cream cheese on her bagel.  
  
"Sure," he replied as he finally decided on a blueberry bagel and put it in the toaster.  
  
After Kim had finished her bagel, she put her empty coffee cup in the sink and went to get ready for her morning run, while Bobby finished up eating. A short time later they were ready and dropped off Joey at her mothers and headed out for a relaxing run. They walked hand in hand chit chatting until they reached the park, where they simultaneously broke into a slow run. After about thirty minutes, Bobby began to pick up the pace slightly and Kim kept right up with him easily. After several hours' worth of running, the two slowed to a brisk walk and took a bit of a breather.  
  
"Before we head back to your place, we ought to have a match race." Bobby said jokingly.  
  
"Why mess up perfectly good automobiles?" she asked him.  
  
"I meant a race on foot." he replied laughing.  
  
"Oh, ok." Kim replied, blushing slightly.  
  
Just then her cell phone began to ring. When she answered, she found Alex on the other end.  
  
"Hey Kim, what's up?" Alex asked her friend.  
  
"Not much, just out for a morning run with Bobby." she replied.  
  
"Sounds like fun." Alex said back, looking over at Ty who sat beside her.  
  
"Yep, especially now that he wants a match race." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"How exciting. Can we come watch?" Alex asked.  
  
"Sure, we're down at the park, lemme get the scoop on the details real quick and I'll relay them to you." Kim said before she put her hand over the phone and talked to Bobby.  
  
After relaying the details to Alex, they hung up their phones and headed towards the starting point of the race to wait on Ty and Alex. 


	24. Together Forever

Fifteen minutes later, Ty and Alex met up with Kim and Bobby at the spot the race was to be held. The race was going to be four laps around the park with the finish line being at a large fountain near the entrance. Once the race had commenced, Kim stayed relatively close to Bobby, but paced herself through the entire first portion of the race. When they hit the final few laps, she drew even with him and began to draw away. When she arrived back at the fountain, she went to cool off as she waited for Bobby to catch up. When he finally caught up with her he said, "How on earth did you do that?" referring to her ease at beating him.  
  
"You ran the race backwards." she replied a she took a sip of water from the bottle she'd brought with her.  
  
"You're supposed to conserve speed in distance races for when its needed." she continued.  
  
"Where'd you learn that one?" Bobby asked as he sat down on the edge of the fountain.  
  
"I ran track in high school." She replied as she took her hair out of the ponytail it had been in.  
  
The four headed back to Kim's apartment to talk and hang out for a bit before work. Kim sat with Ty and Alex in the living room while Bobby took a shower.  
  
"Have you and Bobby set a date for the wedding yet?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, we agreed to get married one month from today." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"Have you decided on where you're going on your honeymoon yet?" Ty asked.  
  
"Yep, we agreed on the Bahamas."  
  
"What island?" Alex asked excitedly.  
  
"Paradise Island." Kim replied.  
  
"Isn't that where the big hotel resort and casino is?" Alex asked, unable to remember the name of the place she was describing.  
  
"Yeah, Atlantis is on Paradise Island. I've been seeing stuff on TV for it so I'm thinking about trying to get reservations there, just got to check on what the rates there are." Kim said.  
  
"Awesome. You know of course when you get back everyone will want details." Alex said laughing.  
  
"I know. I'm half tempted to take a video camera and record the places we go so everyone can watch it and see what we saw down there." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"That's not a bad idea." Ty replied to the two women.  
  
Several minutes later Bobby returned and rejoined the group in the living room. Everyone sat around talking until it was time for everyone except Kim to head out to work. Bobby gave Kim a farewell kiss before he left with Alex and Ty, and said he'd call later to see if she and Joey wanted to meet up for dinner. After everyone had left, Kim went in and took a shower and headed down to her mothers to pick up Joey.  
  
::One-Month Later::  
  
Finally the day had come when she and Bobby would finally be married. Kim had woke up early, partially due to pre-wedding jitters and began to make sure she had everything ready for the wedding itself and finished up the rest of the packing she had to do for the honeymoon afterwards. An hour and a half-later Alex knocked on Kim's door excited to see two of her best friends get married. Kim heard the knock at her door as she went in to wake up her son so she could take him down to her mothers so he didn't have to run all over town with her before the wedding. As soon as Joey was up, Kim ran to the door and let Alex in.  
  
"Sorry it took so long to let you in, Joey didn't want to get out of bed." Kim said as she and Alex sat down in the living room.  
  
"It's ok. Are you ready for the 'big day'?" Alex asked grinning.  
  
"I thought I was, but when I woke up this morning I realized I'm more nervous now than I was when I married Jimmy." she said laughing a bit.  
  
"Need any help getting the remainder of your stuff together?" Alex asked.  
  
"Nope, I think I've got everything lined out." she replied.  
  
Just then Joey appeared in the hallway.  
  
"Hey Joey, you excited about today?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah," the little boy replied some what sleepily.  
  
"Let's get going that way he can go back to sleep at mom's." Kim said as she stood up.  
  
As the three headed to her mother's apartment, Kim's mother was waiting on them. As Joey went back to bed, Kim got her dress from her mother's closet and gave her mother a hug and said, "I'll see the two of you in about four hours at the church."  
  
Kim and Alex left the apartment carrying the dress and the accessories to go along with it and took a cab to the church so they could drop off the dress. After getting things ready, Kim and Alex headed off to pick up Faith and Kim's sister so they could go out to eat and get their hair done. Everyone sat around talking as Kim got her hair done, and about two hours later everyone's hair was done and they were ready to go.  
  
As the group arrived back at the church, it was time to start getting ready. An hour before Kim was to be married, there was a knock at the door to the room the women were using to get ready. Alex went to the door and let Kim's mother in who was carrying a beautiful arrangement of flowers.  
  
"I wonder who those are from?" Alex said winking to Kim as she came in from one of the adjacent rooms after hearing the knock.  
  
Kim finished putting in a pair of earrings and removed the card from the arrangement and read the words written to herself. She felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she closed the card, just as Alex came over.  
  
Alex saw the tears starting to form in Kim's eyes and was worried when she saw Kim put the card down and go check her makeup. Alex picked up the card from the table and read the words written.  
  
You are the one who makes me whole.  
  
You've captured my heart and touched my soul.  
  
For you are the one that stepped out of my dreams.  
  
Gave me New Hope, showed me what love means.  
  
For you alone are my reason to live.  
  
For the compassion you show and care that you give.  
  
You came into my life and made me complete.  
  
Each time I see you my heart skips a beat.  
  
For you define beauty in both body and mind.  
  
Your soft gentle face, more beauty I'll ever find.  
  
For you are the one God sent from above.  
  
The angel I needed for whom I do love.  
  
As Alex read the words, she too began to feel tears forming. When Kim returned, she saw Alex with the card and went over and said, "He's definitely got a way with words."  
  
"Oh yeah," Alex replied as she placed the card back in the arrangement.  
  
Kim sat in a chair going over the vows she had written especially for this day, it would be only a short matter of time before she repeated them to Bobby before her friends and family as butterflies began to form in her stomach from nervousness.  
  
As Bobby and the rest of the guys got ready, he anxiously looked at his watch a dozen times. It seemed as if hours were days and things were going by so slow, it would almost drive a person to insanity. He made a final run through of the vows he had written for Kim, to celebrate their true feelings for each other on the one-day that would change their lives forever. Then finally it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for. He heard the music playing in the sanctuary below as their friends, family and colleagues took their seats. As Bobby stood before the altar, he looked past all the happy faces of those seated and kept his eyes trained on the doors Kim would come through. The music helped relax him a bit, but still inside he couldn't wait to see what she looked like. He knew she would look beautiful, she always did regardless of what she had on.  
  
He snapped back to reality when he heard the music change and everyone turned to look at the doors at the back of the church. He had missed seeing Alex, Faith and Kim's sister take their places opposite from where he stood. One person was missing from the group and it was a matter of time before she took her place amongst family and friends to become his wife. And then the doors opened at the back of the church.  
  
Bobby stood looking through the doors as Kim made her way in. Her hair was swept up in curls and wore the most amazing dress he'd ever seen. She really did look like an angel at that moment. As she made her way towards him, she saw the look of pure joy cross his face, knowing she had found the perfect dress and that he liked it.  
  
The ceremony began and before they knew it, it was time to recite the vows they had written for each other. As they stood facing each other, holding each other's hands, Bobby began to recite the vows he had written for Kim.  
  
"Kim, you are my greatest love and my last love. Until I met you I didn't give true love much thought, but since you came into my life, I struggle desperately to find the words to tell you how much I love you-how I adore you. It is difficult for me to verbalize my feelings for you, because mere words can't begin to express my deep love. I thank God for you Kim, and I pledge myself to you now, to be your ever-faithful husband. I give you my mind, my body and my heart and I promise to love you and cherish you for as long as we both shall live." he said as he looked upon her smiling face, seeing tears forming in her eyes at the words he had just said.  
  
Then it was Kim's turn to recite the vows she had written for Bobby.  
  
"Bobby, since we have been together, you have provided me with strength, security, confidence, honesty, love & plenty of much needed guidance. Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth; where my life was dark, you have brought light. In my darkest trouble, in my coldest silence; I looked for you and you were there. You may not realize it but you have helped me and saved me in so many ways and I love you for that. I am honored that you will have me as your wife and I am proud to have you as my husband. I believe that we were meant to be from the start & I will always love you with all my heart as long as we both shall live." she said in return as she looked into the depths of his brown eyes.  
  
They exchanged rings and in what seemed like a matter of minutes, she and Bobby were officially married. When they exchanged their first kiss as husband and wife, the entire church erupted into applause. Once the ceremony was over the two newlyweds mingled with the guests for a while before heading into the basement of the church for the reception.  
  
Bobby was talking to some of his friends and family and Kim was talking to her sister when Jimmy came over to her.  
  
"What can I say, other than how beautiful you look." he said as he gave her a hug.  
  
"Thank you." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"Honestly, I think Bobby was in shock when he saw you." Jimmy said as he glanced in Bobby's direction.  
  
"I think your right, because I was under the same impression." she replied giggling.  
  
Just then, Bobby returned to Kim's side and said, "What are you two up to?"  
  
"Oh, just talking about how close you came to hitting the floor when I came in." Kim said laughing.  
  
"I didn't get ready to hit the floor." Bobby said in self-defense.  
  
"Oh yes you did." Jimmy chimed in; "You should have seen the look on your face when she walked down the aisle. It was a Kodak moment."  
  
Jimmy headed downstairs with several of the guys from the station as Bobby and Kim stood just inside the sanctuary.  
  
"Well, what do you think of the dress?" Kim asked.  
  
"It's breath taking." He replied as he leaned in and kissed her again before they joined everyone below for the reception.  
  
Everyone helped themselves to the catered food as friends and family of both Kim and Bobby gave short words of encouragement and congratulations. With an occasional horror story or two popping up from family members and friends which made both of them blush. After several hours of dancing and celebration, it was time for them to leave to get ready to go on their honeymoon. The two got into Bobby's car and headed back to Kim's apartment to get her bags for the trip to the Bahamas.  
  
After changing into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, she began to take her luggage out to his car. After getting everything loaded, she checked her purse to make sure she had everything she needed to get through customs and got the information on the hotel room and made sure everything was shut off. In no time, they were headed back to Bobby's apartment to get his stuff and to let him change clothes. Bobby's mother and sisters were already at his apartment when they arrived.  
  
While he changed, Kim sat and talked to his mother and sister's. After getting his stuff loaded in the trunk, one of his sisters went with them so she could bring his car back from the airport after they had left. Kim's mother, Joey, Jimmy, Bobby's mother and sisters all met them at the airport to see them off. After getting everything unloaded from the trunk, they checked in and got their luggage taken care of and got their plane tickets for their flight.  
  
Everyone stood and talked until it was time for them to board their flight, when it was time for them to leave everyone wished them a safe trip and to have fun. As they headed towards the checkpoint to head to the gate to board the plane Joey shouted, "Don't forget to bring back souvenirs!"  
  
"Don't worry. We will." Kim replied as she bent down and gave her son a hug and a kiss goodbye and walked with Bobby through the checkpoint and headed towards the boarding gate. 


	25. Welcome to Paradise

A/N: ~I tried to be as accurate as I could on the estimation of time on the flights. The descriptions of Atlantis I've been inside the place, but never stayed there, and Hartsfield and everything are fairly accurate. If you want to see more go to www.atlantis.com to see more about the place. I tried to be as accurate as I could on the descriptions of the Bahamas and stuff, I was there in December so it's been a while.  
  
~~~~  
  
After boarding the plane, Kim and Bobby sat looking out at a bustling La Guardia International Airport.  
  
"So, are you going to tell me where we are staying or will I have to wait till we get there?" Bobby asked laughing.  
  
"It's a surprise." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"Ok, just tell me one thing," he said back to her.  
  
"Depends on what the one thing is." She replied as she turned in her seat to face him.  
  
"Is the place we are staying at nice?"  
  
"Most definitely." She replied grinning.  
  
Just then the plane lurched forward as they began to taxi down the runway. In a matter of moments they were in the air and flying towards Atlanta Georgia.  
  
"So how long of a layover do we have in Atlanta?" Bobby asked.  
  
Kim pulled out her packet of information and said, "We've got a two hour layover. So we can grab a bite to eat in the airport before we catch our flight."  
  
"Sounds good." he replied, looking out at the midnight sky.  
  
Just then the captain turned off the fasten seatbelt sign and Kim reached down and pulled out her CD player.  
  
"I'm going to take a short nap, so wake me up before we land in Atlanta." Bobby said as he tried to get comfortable.  
  
"No problem." Kim replied as she placed the headphones on her head and turned on her CD player as she glanced over at Bobby who had just closed his eyes for a short nap.  
  
Kim looked out at the darkened sky and began to think about the day's events. She glanced down at her hand and looked at the wedding band she now wore. She began to wonder what the future held for her and Bobby as they began a new chapter together as husband and wife. Two hours later the captain came over the intercom and made the announcement that they were fifteen minutes away from Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. Kim looked out the window as they flew over what appeared to be an interstate and watched the cars bustling in both directions. She took the headphones off and placed her hand on Bobby's shoulder to wake him up.  
  
"We are landing in fifteen minutes," she said as he turned to look at her.  
  
"Jeez that was a quick flight. How long have we been in the air?" he asked her.  
  
"A little over two and a half hours." She replied as she watched the sky begin to lighten as dawn approached.  
  
After the plane had come to a stop outside the terminal, they got their carry-on bags and headed to the front of the plane. When they stepped off the plane and headed into the airport the size of it was unbelievable. They headed from concourse C to the monorail system that would take them to concourse B that was a quarter of a mile away from where they had disembarked. Several minutes later they arrived and went to one of the restaurants in the airport and had breakfast. After locating the gate they were to go through to board their flight from Atlanta to Nassau, they sat and talked as they waited for the plane to begin taking passengers.  
  
Close to an hour later passengers were finally allowed to board the plane that would carry them to Nassau. They went through the gate and stepped onto the massive airliner and took their seats in the middle of the plane. Kim got her CD player back out and placed it in the pouch in the seat in front of her and passed her bag to Bobby to be put in the overhead storage container. Twenty minutes later after all the passengers had boarded they sat fifth inline to take off. Morning was just starting to break over the clouds as they prepared to take off. Once in the air, they began to talk about what they wanted to do when they arrived in the Bahamas. They looked out at the open ocean and the wisps of clouds and sighed, reviling in the tranquil appearance from the air.  
  
Two hours later they looked out at the crystal blue waters surrounding Nassau Island from the air. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. After landing on the island they left the plane and headed to get their luggage and prepared to go through customs. Approximately ten minutes later they were cleared by customs and headed to take a bus over to Paradise Island that was going to their hotel. As they crossed the massive bridge connecting Nassau and Paradise Islands, Kim spotted Atlantis looming on the horizon.  
  
"Look over there," Kim said as she pointed in the direction she was referring to.  
  
"That is one hell of a resort." Bobby replied, staring at Atlantis.  
  
"That's where we are staying." Kim whispered into his ear.  
  
"Are you kidding me?" Bobby said in shock as he turned to look at Kim.  
  
"Nope, that's where I made the reservations at." she replied smiling.  
  
"This is incredible," he said amazed, as he pulled out the video camera they had brought and began to film their surroundings.  
  
Several minutes later they turned up the drive that would take them to the massive hotel before them. As they cleared a line of palm trees, they saw a beautiful gold Pegasus fountain in front of the hotel right across from a large marina full of expensive yachts. The bus came to a stop and those staying at the hotel got off and got their luggage and tipped the driver before heading in to check into their rooms. When Kim and Bobby walked through the giant doors of the hotel, they looked up at the domed ceiling with murals depicting the rise and fall of the mythical sunken city of Atlantis.  
  
After checking in, they headed over to the elevators that would take them to the floor their room was on. They walked down the corridor towards their room after getting off the elevator and finally stopped in front of their room. Kim put the card key in the door and opened it once it was unlocked and walked into the spacious room, which had a magnificent view of the ocean. She placed her things by the closet and went out onto the balcony, taking in the sites in awe. The crisp salty ocean air danced across her skin as she inhaled deeply, relishing the moment. Bobby put his things down and joined her out on the balcony and said while laughing, "Boy are the guys back home going to be jealous."  
  
"Oh, you know they will be." she replied as she looked out upon the crystal blue water crashing against the white sandy beach.  
  
After standing on the balcony taking in the entire landscape they both headed back inside to unpack the suitcases.  
  
"How on earth did you find out about this place?" Bobby asked as he began unpacking.  
  
"I saw a thing on TV about how they built this place and it was fascinating. So I decided if I ever got a chance to come here, this is where I wanted to stay." she replied smiling.  
  
Once she'd finished with her suitcase, she unpacked all the toiletries she'd brought for their stay and placed the empty bag in the closet with the suitcases.  
  
"What do you want to do, now that we are finally here?" Kim asked as she sat on the bed beside Bobby.  
  
"How about we kick back for a bit and relax, then go down to the beach." he replied softly.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," she replied smiling.  
  
The two stretched out alongside one another as they listened to the relaxing sound of the waves breaking on the beach, with an occasional squawk of a sea gull every now and then. Both fell asleep a short time later and slept for about four hours. Kim was the first to wake up and slipped out of Bobby's gentle embrace and went to slip into a bathing suit for their trip to the beach. After slipping into a lilac Nike two piece bathing suit, she tied a matching wrap around her waist and picked up the video camera to get some more shots of Atlantis from the balcony of their room. Bobby woke up thirty minutes later and saw Kim out on the balcony, the wind whipping her hair back off her shoulders as she recorded the scenery around them. He pulled out a pair of swimming trunks and a white sleeveless shirt and changed before heading out onto the balcony.  
  
"You want to go to the pool or the beach first?" he asked as he kissed the side of her neck.  
  
"Lets head down to the beach first," she replied, her skin feeling as if it were on fire from the kisses Bobby placed upon her neck.  
  
She turned off the video camera and followed Bobby back into the room, where they packed a small bag of things to take with them to the beach. After putting sunscreen, the video camera, room keys, and a couple other various items, she grabbed the sheet she'd brought from home to take to the beach and headed for the door. After a brief elevator ride back down to the lobby, they stepped outside and made their way towards the West Beach. After finding a spot on the white sandy beach, they placed the sheet on the ground and Kim put the bag she was carrying in one corner as she sat down facing the ocean.  
  
"So tell me, have you ever been here before?" Bobby asked as he glanced over at her.  
  
"No. I've never had the opportunity to come until now." she replied smiling back at him as she pushed a strand of her hair back off of her face.  
  
A strong breeze blew in from the open ocean as Kim and Bobby both lay side by side relaxing to the sounds of the ocean while taking in the rays of the Caribbean sun. Several hours later, Kim got up and headed down to the waters edge to cool off for a bit. After spending ten minutes in the crystal blue water, she rode the waves back into shore and made her way back up the beach. As she sat down next to Bobby, she noticed that his chest was starting to turn a little red.  
  
"You might want to go take a swim, your starting to turn red," she said as she stretched out on her stomach.  
  
As he got up to head down to the water, she returned to her own little realm while she worked on starting her tan. She had always been genetically blessed when it came to tanning because of her complexion she could lay out for hours and never burn. When Bobby returned several minutes later she said, " Later we are going to have to get groceries for the fridge in the room."  
  
"Yeah. That and we need to start looking at souvenirs too." He replied as he stretched out alongside her to dry off.  
  
Two hours later both began to pack up the stuff they'd brought with them and headed back up to the room. Bobby began to videotape things as they walked, getting some good shots of the Mayan Temple waterslide, stingray lagoon, and predator lagoon, not to mention shots of the pool. Once they were back in their room, Bobby changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, while Kim put on a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strapped top over her bathing suit and began to brush the tangles out of her hair. She put a camera into her purse along with some spare rolls of film and slipped into a pair of comfortable sandals and once Bobby was ready they headed out to do some shopping.  
  
After eating dinner they stopped and bought groceries for the room and picked up some gifts for themselves as well as for their friends and family back home. Several hours later both returned loaded full of bags and began to unpack the bags they had brought back. 


	26. The Suprise

Bobby went to put the gifts in one of the empty suitcases while Kim began to put up the groceries. She placed the cans of soda in the door dispenser and bottles of water on the top shelf. After putting up fruit, lunchmeat, milk and other various refrigerated items she placed a couple of two liters of soda, bagels and cereal up in cabinets and was finished.  
  
Bobby decided to head down to get ice from the ice machine while Kim went out onto the balcony and sat in one of the lounge chairs as she watched the sunset on the horizon. As day turned into night she realized how truly blessed her life had always been. She thought back to all of the events that had transpired that brought her and Bobby even closer together. After a few moments she went back inside and flipped on the television to see what all was on. She flipped through channel after channel till she stopped at a music video channel. After not finding anything interesting on TV, she turned it off and pulled out a book she had brought with her.  
  
Minutes later, Bobby returned with ice and saw Kim curled up against the headboard of the bed reading. She didn't even hear him return she'd gotten so transfixed with what she had been reading. He put the ice in the freezer after fixing two glasses of soda and went over to where she sat. A movement caught her attention, as she looked up she saw Bobby carrying two glasses of soda towards her. She placed the book on the nightstand as he sat down next to her. He passed her a glass and said, "Enjoying your book?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I am," she replied as he picked it up and read the back cover of it and placed it back down.  
  
"How does a moonlit stroll down the beach sound?" he asked her softly.  
  
"Perfect," she replied as she placed her glass on the table as she stood up.  
  
Once outdoors the serenity of their surroundings was everywhere. The soft lull of the ocean, palm trees rustling in the wind and the soft glow of the full moon illuminating the beach. They walked along together for some time when they both found a romantic spot to stop. They sat down and began talking as the tide began to come in a bit further till it was lapping at their ankles. After talking quietly for several minutes, Bobby leaned in and turned her head towards his and gently kissed her.  
  
She placed her left hand on the back of his neck as he began to deepen the kiss between them. After several minutes, the kiss ended and he stood up and pulled Kim to her feet and they started to head back to their room. As they walked, Kim felt the same sensation she felt when Bobby had taken her out to the movies begin to spread through her. Bobby slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him as they headed past the pool and back inside the hotel towards their room.  
  
Once they were back inside their room, he leaned in again and kissed her. This kiss was different than the one they had shared on the beach though; this one was much deeper, much more passionate and wanting. As the kiss ended, their eyes met and Kim led him back into the other room so people walking down the hall wouldn't overhear what was going on. As she walked she slipped the spaghetti strapped top off and put it in a chair, she still had on her dry bathing suit, but the way her hair fell it gave the impression that she had nothing on.  
  
He came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back towards him. He took his left hand and moved her hair back away from her neck and began to leave a fiery trail of kisses down her neck. He felt her pulse racing as he kissed her throat, and slipped his shirt off and turned her around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head to hers as she kissed him back. His hands drifted down to her hips as she gently dug her nails into his back. Moments later her denim shorts fell to the floor as the kiss between her and Bobby ended. She looked into his eyes and whispered,  
  
"Sé lo que usted quiere."  
  
He stared back at her wide-eyed and replied, " ¿Qué usted acaba de decir?"  
  
She laughed lightly and repeated what she had said earlier to him as he shook his head in surprise and said, "¿ Desde que cuando lo hizo habla el español?"  
  
"He estado tratando de aprender." she said softly into his ear.  
  
He smiled back at her and said, "Manténgase al ritmo del trabajo bueno."  
  
He picked her up and carried her over to the bed and laid her down. As he stretched out beside her, he said chuckling, "Just how long have you been working on speaking Spanish?"  
  
"I began thinking about it as a surprise after you proposed to me. Alex tried to help me out when she could but it didn't go to well so I primarily taught myself. Are you surprised?" she asked softly.  
  
"When I first heard what you said, I thought I was hearing things. That's why I asked you to repeat what you had said, to make sure I wasn't hearing things," he said back laughing.  
  
"Now we can carry on conversations at work and not worry about people overhearing what we say." Kim said with a smirk on her face.  
  
"What about Carlos? He speaks Spanish." Bobby reminded her.  
  
"He won't hear it if he isn't listening in or eavesdropping." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"Good point," he said as he began to kiss her again.  
  
Several hours later both were asleep together as the illuminating glow of the full moon washed over them from the open sliding glass door.  
  
As sunlight filled the room the next morning, the sudden burst of light that filled the room woke up Kim. The sliding glass door was still open on the balcony as the soft sounds of the ocean filled her ears. She rolled over and squinting against the bright light and saw Bobby still sound asleep next to her. The soothing sounds of the ocean carried her back to sleep for another hour and a half. Not too long after Kim had fallen back asleep, Bobby woke up, remembering the events of the night before. He looked over at Kim who was curled up next to him like a kitten sleeping on an air vent. He slowly got out of bed and walked out onto the balcony and let the Caribbean sun warm his body.  
  
He went back inside and headed in to go take a shower before Kim got up. While the water was running he watched her as she slept from the doorway of the bathroom. He glanced down at the wedding band on his finger and knew he had found his true soul mate in her. As he stepped into the shower, the hot water danced across his skin, but all his thoughts were of Kim. Even before they began dating and got married, she was the only one he ever thought of non-stop. As she began to wake up, the wind outside knocked one of the chairs on the balcony back into the sliding glass door.  
  
She jumped at the sound of the chair hitting the glass, but soon calmed down after realizing what had made the sound. She got up and ran a brush through her hair and pulled it up and slipped into the bathroom to get some lotion from the counter since the door was open. The next thing Kim knew, she was being pulled back into the shower.  
  
"Someone's feisty this morning," she said giggling as she put her arms around his neck.  
  
"We might as well conserve on water," he said jokingly.  
  
"Since when did you become an environmentalist?" she replied sarcastically.  
  
"Very funny," he said as he leaned in and kissed her.  
  
As the hot water flowed over them, it was as if their senses were in overdrive. Soft moans escaped her lips as he began to kiss the side of her neck. Her skin felt as if it were on fire from where he had been kissing her. Bobby turned away for a minute to wipe some water from his eyes with a towel; Kim quickly slipped out of her soaking wet bathing suit and let her hair down from the ponytail it had been in. She slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him back under the stream of hot water. In one swift motion, Bobby turned around and pulled Kim against him and began to devour her mouth with his. He reached around and turned off the water and swept her off her feet and carried her back into the other room.  
  
Several minutes later, they were back in bed in each other's arms. She arched her body into his as cries of pleasure escaped her lips. Her cries urged him on until he collapsed beside her as exhaustion set in on both of them. After several minutes of silence Kim said, "Do we want to go down to the pool or finish what we started?"  
  
"Let's head down to the pool for a bit and pick up where we left off tonight." He replied smiling as he sat up beside her.  
  
"Sound's good to me," She said with a grin as she placed an inviting kiss upon his lips before she got up.  
  
He watched her pull an ice blue two piece from the drawer and slip it on. She returned to the bathroom to run a brush through her hair and put some cucumber melon lotion on. When she returned she found Bobby still lying in bed.  
  
"Everything ok?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Yeah, I was just thinking that's all." he replied softly.  
  
"Just thought I'd check and make sure I didn't tire you out too much." She teased as she watched his reaction to her comment.  
  
Bobby began to laugh and said, "You haven't seen anything yet."  
  
"Oh really?" she said as she pinned him to the bed.  
  
"I guess we'll see if what the old adage says is true then." She replied flirtatiously as she straddled his midsection.  
  
"And just what does this adage say?" he asked.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough." she teased as she placed her hands on his chest and leaned down to kiss him.  
  
After the kiss ended, Kim got up and said, "Come on and get dressed so we can head out."  
  
As Bobby got ready, Kim went out to the balcony. She leaned against the railing and let herself be emersed in the landscape. Several minutes later she sat in one of the lounge chairs and looked out towards the open ocean. Being here with Bobby was her own little piece of paradise. It gave her a chance to finally be able to not be in a hurry to get things done, worry about work or things of that nature. Instead all she had to worry about was what to wear to the beach, what to fix for lunch and what plans for dinner were.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Translation for spanish parts.  
Sé lo que usted quiere - I know what you want.  
  
¿Qué usted acaba de decir?- What did you just say?  
  
¿ Desde que cuando lo hizo habla el español?- Since when did you speak spanish?  
  
He estado tratando de aprender.- I've been trying to learn.  
  
Manténgase al ritmo del trabajo bueno.- Keep up the good work. 


	27. Do You Believe in Magic?

Bobby finished getting ready and noticed Kim sitting out on the balcony with her eyes closed. He grabbed the video camera from beside the television and went to the open sliding glass door. As he focused on Kim who was still sitting on the lounge chair deep in thought, he still couldn't believe that the two of them were married and that she'd turned down her ex-husband's advances to be with him. Just then two sea gulls flew by squawking loudly. The birds were loud enough to bring Kim from her almost trance-like state. Bobby quickly paused the camcorder and focused out to sea, as if he were filming the landscape.  
  
"You ready?" she asked as she looked over at him in the doorway.  
  
"Yeah," he replied as she stood up.  
  
"You know, I think in that little number your gonna get a lot of attention down by the pool." he said as he pulled Kim by his side.  
  
"Let them look all they want, but only you can touch." She teased as she walked back into the room.  
  
Kim packed the bag with supplied for both a trip to the pool and the beach. She grabbed a royal blue bathing suit wrap and tied it around her waist and put on the ankle bracelet Bobby had gotten for her the night before when they went shopping. Pretty soon they were headed down to the pool. After placing her towel in the lounge chair by the pool, she headed over to get in the pool. As she dove into the deep end of the pool, the water was warm enough to remind you of bath water. In a matter of moments Bobby dove in and appeared beside her as he broke the surface of the water. After spending close to fifteen minutes in the pool, she hoisted herself out of the pool and made her way over to her lounge chair. She watched Bobby swim some laps as she picked up the book she'd brought with her and began to read.  
  
Several minutes later, Bobby rejoined Kim by the pool and said, "I told you that you would draw attention down here."  
  
"Incase you hadn't noticed, I've seen a few eyeballs in your direction too mister." she said laughing.  
  
Kim began to spray some suntan oil on her legs when Bobby looked over at her.  
  
"What is that stuff your using?" he asked her.  
  
She passed him the bottle and said, "It's tanning oil. I'm surprised you haven't seen your sisters use it before. Want to try some?"  
  
Bobby began to laugh and said, "Let me see what it does to you first before I try it."  
  
Kim shook her head and laughed as she pulled out her CD player and put the earphones on her head and relaxed to the music that filled her ears as she worked on her tan. An hour and a half later, she got up and went to cool off in the pool before she continued working on her tan. The cool water soothed her skin as she swam a few laps to work out some of the stiffness in her muscles from lying on the lounge chair. About ten minutes later she got out of the pool and headed back to her chair and noticed that Bobby was gone. She looked back over at the pool to see if he'd gotten in but didn't see him. She reached into her bag and removed the book she'd brought down with her and began to read for about fifteen minutes, occasionally glancing up keeping a look out for Bobby. Next thing she knew, she saw him walking back towards her carrying two Pina Colada's. She put her book down when he got back over to her and passed her the drink.  
  
"Man that tanning oil works fast." He said, commenting on the fact that she was already beginning to turn golden brown.  
  
"Wanna try some?" she asked after taking a sip of her drink.  
  
"Sure, why not." He replied and turned around so she could spray the oil on his back and massage it in.  
  
She passed him the bottle and he put some on his arms and legs and looked over at her and said, "Do you need any of this on your back?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I do." She replied smiling as she stretched out on her stomach so he could put the oil on her back.  
  
He sat on the edge of her chair and sprayed the oil on her back and worked it into her skin. He gently massaged her shoulders as he worked the oil in and felt her begin to relax under his touch.  
  
Two hours later Kim came to and went to cool off again in the pool. As she stopped swimming to wipe some water from her eyes, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew it wasn't Bobby and turned around to see who it was.  
  
"Hi, I'm Marc, what's your name?" the young man asked.  
  
"Kim." she replied smiling; "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
She imagined Marc was in his early twenties and had a physique pretty close to Jimmy's.  
  
"So, what's a beautiful woman like you doing here all alone?" Marc asked, not noticing the wedding band on her hand.  
  
"I'm not here alone. My husband is over there," she said motioning in Bobby's direction as she moved away from Marc slightly who was about ready to slip his arms around her waist.  
  
"Where are you from?" he asked.  
  
"New York, you?" she replied.  
  
"California." He replied as he took a hold of her hand and pulled her towards him.  
  
"Please, don't." she said trying to pull back away from him.  
  
Marc didn't listen and slipped his arm around her waist and was about ready to lean in to kiss her when she disappeared under the water and pushed off the edge of the pool with her feet causing Marc to loose the grip he had on her wrist. When she resurfaced, she looked over her shoulder to see if he was following her and headed towards Bobby.  
  
As she got out of the pool and sat down next to Bobby, he looked over at her and said, "Up for a dip in the hot tub?"  
  
"Sure," she replied as she stood back up. The two walked side by side over to the hot tub and stepped into the hot water.  
  
She felt as if she was being watched and looked over her shoulder towards the pool where she saw Marc watching her. She sat and faced Bobby as they talked for at least fifteen minutes about how they dreaded going home once the honeymoon was over.  
  
"Ready to go dry out so we can head back up to the room?" Bobby asked as he caught notice of all the looks Marc was shooting in Kim's direction.  
  
"Sounds good to me." She replied as she stepped out and headed for the lounge chairs.  
  
Thirty minutes later they were dry and packed up their stuff and headed towards their room. Bobby went out onto the balcony and sat in the same chair Kim had been in earlier and she went and got two cans of soda from the fridge and joined him on the balcony. He was obviously deep in thought when she came out onto the balcony. She stood next to him and placed the cans of cold soda against each side of his neck. He gasped when he felt two very cold cans of soda being pressed against his neck and looked up at Kim who was snickering. Just as Kim put the two cans down, Bobby pulled her down on top of him. She wanted him to make love to her as he had this morning and she was pretty sure he was thinking the same thing. She leaned in and kissed him hard. She felt his hands press against the small of her back as she began to kiss his neck and chest. A low primal sound escaped his lips as she continued her tirade on his body.  
  
She got up and pulled him off the chair and led him back indoors where she pulled him close and began to kiss him again.  
  
The two spend the majority of the evening in each other's arms as the exhaustion wore off from their tirade on each other. Bobby looked over at the clock on the nightstand and realized that he should start getting ready for the surprise dinner cruise he was taking Kim on. After putting on a pair of khaki dress pants and a burgundy dress shirt he went over and woke up Kim. He sat down beside her and brushed her hair back away from her face and said, "Time to get up sleepyhead." She rolled over and slowly sat up and noticing that he was already dressed.  
  
"Where are we going?" she asked as she looked at the outfit he had on.  
  
"It's a surprise, come on and get ready so we can go." he replied as he handed her a burgundy halter style dress from the closet.  
  
She took the dress from him and headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready. After blow drying her hair and putting some lotion on, she slipped into the dress. Several minutes later she emerged from the bathroom and dug through the closet and got the black lace up dress sandals she'd brought with her and put them on and headed out onto the balcony where Bobby was.  
  
"You've got something planned for this evening don't you?" she asked as she stood beside the chair he sat in.  
  
"As a matter of fact I do have something planned," He replied smiling.  
  
"Where did you find this dress? I didn't even pack a dress like this so I know you had to have bought it," she asked curiously.  
  
"Remember when I came back with the pina coloda's?" he asked as Kim nodded her head in answer to the question.  
  
"I bought it in one of the stores here in the hotel along with the outfit I have on." he replied as he looked down at his watch.  
  
"It's time to go," he said as he stood up and began to head back inside.  
  
She walked back inside and grabbed her purse while Bobby grabbed the bag with the camcorder and headed towards the door of their room. When they got outside, Kim followed Bobby because it was obvious he knew where he was going. Several minutes later they were down by the marina where a small group of people was standing around talking.  
  
"Why are we down by the marina?" Kim asked as she looked at the multi- million dollar yachts docked in the marina.  
  
"I signed us up for a dinner cruise around the island." Bobby replied smiling.  
  
"Someone has been busy today." She said back to him as a grin spread across her face.  
  
While they waited with the other group of people, Bobby pulled out the camcorder and got some shots of the marina and some of Atlantis at night. Ten minutes later, the boat arrived and the group that had gathered by the marina was allowed to board the boat. As they took their seats at their assigned table, Kim looked around the boat and couldn't believe everything she was seeing. As the appetizers were brought around, Kim began to wonder how he had found out about the cruise because she hadn't seen anything around the hotel advertising them. Ten minutes later champagne was brought around before their meals were brought out to them.  
  
"How much did it cost you to arrange this?" she asked quietly.  
  
"I'll tell you later." He said grinning as he finished his glass of water.  
  
As dinner was served, she looked over at Bobby who was still grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"You outdid yourself to set this up," she said quietly still not believing she was on one of the big expensive yachts taking a dinner cruise around the island.  
  
"I wanted to do something special for you before we leave and go back home." he replied as he looked into her eyes.  
  
"You're already doing something special for me. You're here with me in this incredible place." she said softly as a gentle breeze began to blow in from the sea.  
  
After everyone had eaten the final course of the meal, the entertainment portion of the cruise began one of the crewman on the ship videotaped the activities for Bobby.  
  
"Care to dance?" Bobby asked as dance music began to play.  
  
"Sure why not." She replied smiling; "Its not like we know anyone here so we can cut loose and have some real fun."  
  
As the dance music continued playing, the two danced like they never had back home. She was having a blast and could tell that Bobby was having the time of his life as well. After a while the party atmosphere changed as several slow songs were played, including the song that had been played when she and Bobby got married. The final dance tune that was played as the ship headed back to port was the Electric Slide. Kim joined in the group and began to go with the flow as Bobby watched. She looked over at him standing there and said, "Get over here, You're not sitting out the last song of the evening."  
  
"If I knew this one I'd be in there with you." he replied laughing.  
  
"Then I'll teach you." she said taking his hand and leading him back out on the floor.  
  
He watched her for a couple of minutes and then picked up on the moves and joined in. As the boat came to a stop and they headed back up the marina, Kim couldn't believe how magical the evening had become. Before they went back to their room, they took another late night stroll down the beach together. They walked for what seemed like an eternity when they stopped next to a group of gently swaying palm trees.  
  
"Did you enjoy your surprise this evening?" he asked as he pulled her close.  
  
"I had an amazing time tonight," she replied quietly, relaxing in his gentle embrace as they looked out to sea at the full moon over the ocean.  
  
"Good," he replied smiling as he gently kissed her.  
  
After spending several minutes looking out to sea in the comfort of each other's arms, they headed back to their room to relax for the rest of the night. 


	28. Back to Reality

After changing out of their dinner clothes and putting on some lounging clothes, Kim flipped on the TV and went about the task of finding a movie that she wanted to watch. Bobby came back from changing and sat down behind her and leaned up against the headboard of the bed. Kim had just found a movie on TV when she felt Bobby wrap his arms around her waist and pull her backward against him as they settled in to watch the movie she'd found. The next day they spent all of their time down on the beach relishing what little time they had left in paradise. They stopped for ice cream at one of the ice cream parlors in front of the marina and caught a football game between the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers on one of the TV's on one of the yachts from where they were sitting. Before they knew it, it was time for them to head back home from their honeymoon. Neither wanted to leave but knew they had to, back to the land of reality.  
  
Kim called her mother once they arrived in Atlanta and told her that they should be back in New York in about two hours. After talking to her daughter, Kim's mother called Jimmy and Bobby's family to let them know so they could all meet them at the airport and welcome them home. As the group assembled an hour later, everyone was sitting around talking. While the adults talked, Joey watched like a hawk for his mother and Bobby to arrive back home. Joey began to fidget in his chair as he looked on for his mother in the terminal. In an instant he thought he saw her but doubted it was her. As he watched the pair move closer, Joey realized that it indeed was his mother with a very good suntan and leapt from the chair and ran in her direction.  
  
"They're back." Jimmy said to the group as he watched his son run over to his mother.  
  
The group stopped talking and got up and headed over towards where Kim, Bobby and Joey were. Everyone wanted to know how the trip was and the two began to describe the past week as they walked out of the airport towards their vehicles. After leaving the airport Jimmy headed straight for the firehouse to let everyone know that Kim and Bobby were back in town. Bobby, his mother and sisters all headed back to his place while Kim and Joey headed back to her apartment to unpack. As Kim returned home with her mother and Joey, Joey was asking all kinds of questions about the trip, which made her and her mother laugh. After unpacking her things she gave Joey the souvenirs that she'd bought for him and he took off to his room to put up the gifts his mother had given him. Kim and her mother sat in the living room and talked about her vacation for about two hours until the phone began to ring. As Kim answered she heard the voices of several people speaking in Spanish in the background when she heard Bobby's voice on the other end and began to smile.  
  
"How's it feel to be home?" he asked her.  
  
"It's nice, but I'd like to be back down in paradise without having a care in the world," she replied wistfully.  
  
"I know what you mean," he said chuckling slightly; "Is there anyway I could stay with you for a few days? Some of my sisters have been staying in my apartment while we were gone and they haven't left yet."  
  
"Sure, feel free to come on over whenever you want." She replied, silently laughing at the thought of his apartment overrun by his sisters.  
  
Later on, Kim and Bobby went by the firehouse to pass out the coffee mugs they had brought back for their colleagues and brought the video tape from the trip so everyone could take in the sites of the Bahamas. Everyone gathered around the TV as the video started and watched intently as the first images of the trip appeared on the screen. Jaws dropped when they saw the shots taken of Atlantis from the bridge. Everyone agreed that Atlantis totally outclassed any of the big hotels they'd ever seen or been to. There were a lot of whistles and cat calls when the portion of the tape Bobby had shot of Kim on the balcony came on. Kim arched an eyebrow at Bobby and said, "Your camcorder privileges have been temporarily revoked."  
  
Jimmy leaned over next to Kim and whispered, "Why didn't you ever wear a bathing suit like that when we were together?"  
  
Kim looked at Jimmy and said, "One, you never took me swimming, Two, would it have made a difference in our relationship then if I had?"  
  
Jimmy blushed and replied, "You never know until you try."  
  
"I think it's a little late for trying that one out." Kim replied smugly as she began to laugh at the look Bobby shot in Jimmy's direction.  
  
When the portion of tape from the dinner cruise came on everyone was in awe at the size of the boat. As the entertainment portion of the tape came on, one thing escaped the mouths of all those watching the tape.  
  
"Since when did you dance like that?" Everyone asked as they watched the dance session between the two.  
  
"What? You expected us to dance like that when we got married?" Kim asked pretending to be shocked by their reactions.  
  
"I never thought you had it in you." one of the firefighters said in amazement.  
  
"Surprise." Kim said laughing at everyone's reaction.  
  
"I think we all need to go dancing one day after work to kick back and unwind." Jimmy said with a smirk on his face as he glanced in Kim's direction.  
  
Kim rolled her eyes and shook her head as everyone around her agreed to the idea Jimmy had proposed. When the tape was over Jimmy looked over at Kim and said, "It looks like the two of you had an amazing time down there."  
  
"Oh we did I assure you." she replied winking at him as she glanced over at Bobby talking to Alex.  
  
"Did you have to give me that mental image?" Jimmy said as he looked in the same direction Kim was looking.  
  
"What mental image?" she asked sarcastically.  
  
"You know what I mean." he replied as he headed to get a soda.  
  
As Kim and Bobby left the firehouse they talked about the reactions of their fellow colleagues to the tape they'd shown them.  
  
"You know, they are never going to let me live any of that down?" Kim said laughing.  
  
"Yep," Bobby replied laughing with her.  
  
"Are you sure you all didn't plan all that before we left?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Positive," he replied smiling as they got into his car to go pick up his stuff from his apartment which was inhabited by his sisters.  
  
Kim sat in the living room and talked with his sisters while Bobby got his stuff together from his room. After getting things together he sat and talked with his sisters briefly before he gave them Kim's number incase they needed to reach him and the two headed back to her place. After getting in the elevator at her apartment complex Kim said, "You go on up and I'll be there shortly after I pick up Joey."  
  
Bobby took the keys to her apartment from her hand and kissed her gently before she stepped off the elevator. Kim walked down the corridor towards her mother's apartment where her son had been staying while she had been gone. As she knocked on the door her thoughts drifted back to Bobby and how blessed she was to have him in her life. Kim's mother came to the door and let her in. As she and her mother sat talking for a bit she heard her sons running footsteps coming down the hall. She braced herself as her son leapt onto her lap and hugged her.  
  
"Did you and Bobby have fun on your trip?" Joey asked his mother eagerly.  
  
"Yes we did," she replied as she hugged her son close.  
  
A short time later she looked down at her watch and said to her mother, "We'd better get going."  
  
Kim's mother followed her daughter and grandson to the door and bid them a good night and watched them head upstairs.  
  
"Guess who is waiting for us upstairs?" Kim asked Joey as they took the elevator up to their floor.  
  
"Bobby?" the little boy replied guessing.  
  
"Yep. He's staying with us for a while till his sister's leave his apartment, is that ok?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah! Now we can have three way races." Joey replied excitedly as they headed towards their apartment.  
  
"You know, one of these days your going to turn into a video game." Kim said laughing as they reached their apartment.  
  
Bobby had left the door unlocked for them and turned his eyes away from the football game he was watching when he heard the door open and saw Kim and Joey walk in. Joey ran over to the couch and jumped up on Bobby's lap and looked at the game on TV.  
  
"Where are they playing at?" Joey asked Bobby as Kim sat down next to them.  
  
"Raymond James Stadium in Tampa." Bobby replied as he put his arm around Kim's shoulder.  
  
"Have we missed anything good during the game?" Kim asked.  
  
"Not really except the whole first quarter," he said laughing.  
  
"What two teams are playing?" Joey asked as the game came back from a commercial.  
  
"Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders." Bobby replied as he watched the Bucs shut down a passing option on the Raiders.  
  
Thirty minutes later Joey fell asleep across Bobby's lap and Kim carefully picked him up and carried him back to his room and put him to bed. She stopped by the kitchen and picked up two cans of beer and headed back to the living room to watch the rest of the game.  
  
::One-Year Later::  
  
The day began as any other day would, but today was a bittersweet one for Bobby. It was the one-year anniversary of his brother's death. He still thought about Matty occasionally, often wondering what he could have done with his life if he had stayed sober. Even though Bobby still resented his brother for what he had done to Kim, he still remembered all the good times he and his brother had before he took a turn for the worse.  
  
He sat up in bed and looked over at Kim who was sound asleep beside him. Everyday he was thankful to have her in his life. He took his hand and gently caressed her cheek, thinking back to the events that took place one- year ago. His eyes fell upon the scar on her right shoulder where she'd had surgery to remove the bullet she'd taken for him, quite possibly saving his life. He got up and looked out the window at the city below, letting the sunlight warm his body. As he looked out at the skyline he remembered some of the best times he and his brother had before he relapsed on drugs.  
  
A short time later Kim woke up and noticed Bobby wasn't in the room. She got up and headed towards the kitchen of the apartment they now shared together. She found him at the table with his head in his hands, obviously very deep in thought. She remembered that today marked the one-year anniversary of Matty's death. She put a comforting arm around his shoulders as she stood beside him and said, "Wanna talk?"  
  
"Are you sure you want to listen?" he asked softly as he waged a mental war with himself.  
  
"I know this is about Matty," she replied quietly.  
  
"I hardly knew him, so tell me about him." she said as she took a seat next to him and took his hands into her own.  
  
After a brief period of silence Bobby began to tell Kim about the Matty he had known before he got involved with drugs. An hour or so into the discussion, they went into the living room and took a seat on the couch and picked up where he left off on telling her about Matty. When Bobby had finished speaking it felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from his chest. Kim glanced over at the time on the VCR and said, "Come back to bed for a while, we don't have to be at work for eight hours."  
  
Together they stood up slowly and headed back to their room before they had to get ready for work. Kim woke up three hours later and propped several pillows behind her back as she leaned against the headboard and watched Bobby who was sound asleep next to her. She still harbored animosity towards Matty for everything he had done to her, but as she recalled the things Bobby had told her about him she realized that when he was sober he was a completely different person. A short time later, Bobby began to stir next to her but didn't wake up, even when he inadvertently rolled over on her. She had dozed off for a bit and woke up when she felt pressure on her abdomen and legs. When she looked down she found his head in her lap as he slept on not even realizing he'd rolled onto her. 


	29. Remembrance

Kim began to smile as she cradled his head in her lap and drifted off to sleep briefly. As Bobby began to wake up, he felt Kim's arms around him. He slowly sat up and looked up at Kim who had woken up when she felt him shift his weight on top of her as he sat up.  
  
"Hey there," she said smiling as she placed her hand on his cheek.  
  
He gently kissed her and pulled her close to him as he said, "Thank you for listening to me earlier."  
  
"No problem," she replied smiling as she relaxed in his embrace.  
  
"After work I'm gonna go take some flowers to his grave, would you come with me?" he asked as he rested his chin on the top of her head.  
  
"Sure," Kim replied softly as she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.  
  
The two lay in the comfort of each other's embrace for close to an hour till Joey came in. Joey's antics brightened Bobby's mood a little but still today would be a rough one, no matter what happened. As the three of them sat down for breakfast, they chit chatted idly till it was time to go. After dropping off Joey at Kim's mother's apartment they headed off to work. The first part of the day was busy, which helped Bobby keep his mind off of Matty. During their lunch break, they stopped and checked on his mother to make sure she was doing ok. She was in the same kind of state that Bobby had been in earlier that morning, but was trying to keep busy to avoid thinking about it.  
  
After their break was over, the last half of the shift was slow so they returned to the station for a while to wait for a call. As they entered the station, Jimmy headed towards them and said to Kim, "Would it be ok if Joey stayed the weekend with me?"  
  
"I don't have a problem with it," she replied as she looked over at Bobby; "What time do you want us to bring him over?"  
  
"After your shift is over is fine. Then on Monday I'll bring him back to your mothers before I come in to work."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Kim replied smiling, as she began planning what to do over the weekend.  
  
"Thanks," Jimmy said smiling as he gave Kim a quick hug before heading up to lift weights with the rest of the fire fighters.  
  
"I guess we have the weekend to ourselves." Kim said to Bobby as they headed for the TV room of the firehouse.  
  
"What do you want to do over the weekend?" Bobby asked her.  
  
"I was just about ready to ask you the same thing." Kim replied laughing.  
  
When their shift was over, Kim and Bobby went and picked up Joey and helped him get his stuff together for his stay with his father. When they pulled up, they saw Jimmy standing outside waiting on them. Joey gave Kim and Bobby a hug goodbye and followed his father inside out of the cold New York weather. After pulling away from Jimmy's apartment complex, they headed towards the cemetery to drop off the flowers. The two stood in front of his tombstone briefly before they both knelt down and Bobby began to recite something in Spanish.  
  
"Usted sabría el secreto de la muerte. ¿Pero cómo lo encontrará usted a menos que usted lo buscará en el corazón de la vida? El búho cuya noche salta ojos son ciegas al día no puede destapar el misterio de la luz. Si usted percibiría verdaderamente el espíritu de la muerte, abre el corazón lejos al cuerpo de la vida. Para la vida y la muerte son uno, aún como el río y el mar son uno. Pero usted ha sido tan fiel, así que confiando, así que verdadero. Aunque había tiempo usted hizo algunas cosas que usted supo que usted debido'T hace. Y usted ha sido perdonado y ahora por FIN usted're-liberta."  
  
She heard his voice begin to crack and put her arm around his shoulders as he finished what he was saying. She watched as some tears began to fall down his face as he finished and stood up. She took his hand in hers as they walked back towards the car.  
  
They drove in silence back to their apartment until Bobby glanced over at Kim and said, "Thank you for going with me to the cemetery, I doubt I could have gone alone."  
  
"You don't have to go through anything alone." She said softly, squeezing his hand gently.  
  
As they returned home and entered their apartment, Bobby headed for the sofa while Kim went and put her stuff in their room and stopped and got out two cans of beer and returned to the living room to sit with Bobby. She passed him the can and put her arm around his shoulder as a few tears made their way down his face. She placed her can down on the table and wiped away his tears with her hands. She hated seeing him upset like this because a part of her felt his pain. She whispered soft words of comfort as she did her best to help him get through this.  
  
"The best way to remember Matty is to remember all the good times the two of you had together before he got into drugs." Kim whispered softly.  
  
A small smile appeared on his face as he listened to what she had just said. She gently held his tear streaked face in her hands and tenderly kissed him. The memories of Matty slowly began to fade away as he deeply returned the kiss she'd given to him. Several hours' later moonlight shone through the window of their room as she gently rested her head on his chest. He brushed a strand of hair back away from her face and said, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it through everything that happened last year."  
  
"Like I told you before, I love you too much to ever leave you." she said softly.  
  
A month later Bobby's mother called and said that one of his sisters was moving back to New York from Virginia. Bobby took some time off from work to go down and help her move. Kim stayed in New York and took care of Joey and continued working while he was gone. It was awkward not having him around for close to two weeks but she counted her blessings that she was working with Alex and not Carlos while he was gone.  
  
While working with Alex they talked nonstop about all kinds of stuff. Towards the end of the first week she noticed that she was starting to fatigue more easily than she had in the past, she also had a odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Alex thought she looked a bit paler than normal and became concerned. When Alex asked if she was feeling ok, it hit Kim what could be causing the changes she'd started to feel. She closed her eyes and placed her right hand over her stomach and thought of Bobby who was still in Virginia with his sister. Several minutes later she felt Alex's hand on her shoulder and came back to her senses.  
  
"Kim, what's wrong?" Alex asked, obviously worried about her partner.  
  
Kim looked over at Alex and saw her worried expression and said, "I think I know what's going on."  
  
"Wanna fill me in?" she asked.  
  
"Would you stop at the store on the next block?" Kim asked, hoping Alex didn't wonder why they were stopping.  
  
"Sure, but what for?" Alex asked as she tried to figure out what was going on.  
  
"Just thirsty that's all." Kim replied, not wanting to say anything till she had definite answers to her suspicions.  
  
As Alex stopped the bus, Kim got out and picked up two sodas as well as a pregnancy test. After paying for the items she put the test in her purse and carried the two sodas back to the bus. As she made her way back, she felt extremely lightheaded and had to stop for a second before she climbed back into the passenger seat. When she climbed back in Alex asked, "Are you sure you're ok? Do you want to go back to the station for a bit since there hasn't been a call?"  
  
"I just got really lightheaded that's all. If you want to head back that's fine" Kim replied, still feeling a bit faint.  
  
Several minutes later they pulled up at the station when Alex said, "Let me check your blood pressure to make sure everything's ok."  
  
Kim nodded her head in approval and let Alex take her blood pressure before they went in the station.  
  
"When we get inside you need to lay down. The lightheadedness is from a slight touch of hypotension." Alex said as she helped Kim inside.  
  
As they headed past the kitchen of the firehouse, several of the guys were cooking something that had a really obnoxious odor to it. Kim looked at Alex and said faintly, "I think I'm going to be sick." They hurried past the kitchen and got her upstairs. Away from the rank odor Kim's stomach began to settle down and the lightheadedness began to go away as she lay on one of the bunks with Alex sitting close by.  
  
"Are you feeling any better?" Alex asked as she handed her a bottle of water one of the guys had brought up for her.  
  
"A little." Kim replied as she slowly sat up for a bit.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what's up?" Alex asked concerned.  
  
"Don't say anything yet to anyone else, but I think I might be pregnant." Kim replied as she lay back down on her side facing Alex.  
  
"Have you taken a test yet?" Alex asked softly since one of the firefighters was coming up the stairs.  
  
Kim shook her head no and Alex replied, "When we take our lunch break you've got to find out for sure."  
  
"Do you have a test yet?" Alex asked once they were alone.  
  
"Yeah, I picked it up when I got the soda's." Kim replied as she slowly stood up.  
  
Several hours later the two of them left the station and headed out to lunch. Kim tried to eat but it wasn't settling with her stomach at all. Before they left, Kim headed to take the test while Alex waited on her outside. As she waited for the results of the test all she could think about was Bobby. She glanced nervously at her watch and fiddled with her necklace as she waited for time to elapse. When time was up she looked at the test as tears of joy fell from her eyes. She was going to be a mother again, which excited her. She discarded the test and freshened up a bit before heading out to join Alex in the bus. Alex sat nervously in the driver's seat of the bus waiting on Kim. All Kim thought about as she walked out to join Alex was how soon Bobby would return from Virginia so she could tell him the good news.  
  
As she climbed into the passenger seat, Alex looked over nervously at her and said, "What did you find out?"  
  
Kim looked over at Alex and saw the anxiety on her face as she waited to hear the results of the test.  
  
"It was positive. Bobby and I are having our first baby together." Kim said cheerfully as she saw the look of happiness cross her friends face.  
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you two." Alex exclaimed as she gave Kim a hug.  
  
"Don't tell anyone back at the station, because I want to tell Bobby myself before everyone else finds out."  
  
"I won't say a word. How soon will Bobby be back?" Alex asked as they pulled out into traffic.  
  
"He should hopefully be back by the end of the week." Kim replied, as she anxiously counted down the days till he came home.  
  
"You know he's going to be ecstatic when you tell him." Alex said smiling.  
  
"I know." Kim replied softly as images of Bobby and their future child flashed before her eyes.  
  
Bobby returned to New York late Friday evening and headed down to the station to see what was going on. Kim and Alex were gone on a run so he left a message for her with Jimmy and headed to check on his mother to make sure she was ok till Kim got off from work. The rest of their shift was slow so Kim and Alex returned to the station to wait on another call. Kim saw Jimmy sitting on the front of one of the trucks holding a piece of paper in his hand. He heard doors close and looked up to see Kim and Alex headed in.  
  
"Hey Kimmy got something for ya." Jimmy called out to her.  
  
"Really?" she asked, as Alex went on upstairs.  
  
"Yep, a note from Bobby." he replied as he passed her the paper and headed up to join the guys.  
  
She took the paper from Jimmy and unfolded it and sat on the truck and read what it said. Alex removed a can of soda and a bottle of water from the fridge and went back towards Kim. As she headed down the stairs she saw Kim reading the note and decided to wait till she'd finished reading before she headed over. As she refolded the note and put it in her pocket Alex came over and passed her a bottle of water and said, "You looking forward to telling him the good news?"  
  
"You have no idea." Kim replied as she and Alex went to go sit and talk away from the guys.  
  
"Any idea how far along you are?" Alex asked softly.  
  
"Probably about four weeks, although I'm surprised I didn't catch the signs sooner." she replied as she looked down at her watch, counting down till she'd see Bobby again.  
  
After their shift was over, she was relieved to finally be able to go home. The week had left her physically and emotionally drained, but all that mattered was that Bobby was back home. Alex and Kim left the station and talked briefly before heading their separate ways. When she got home, she saw Jimmy sitting outside on the steps waiting on her. She knew he was here to pick up Joey for the weekend and the two of them headed up to her mother's apartment. Joey came running when he heard the front door open and saw his mother and father come through the door. As Jimmy shut the front door, Kim bent down and gave her son a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, "Do you have your stuff ready?"  
  
"Yep," the little boy replied happily as Jimmy picked him up.  
  
Joey and his father headed off to get his stuff while Kim sat down on the couch slowly, feeling another bout of lightheadedness set in and began to talk to her mother. Jimmy and Joey returned to the living room with Joey's stuff and said, "We'd better be going." He'd noticed the look of exhaustion in Kim's eyes and thought she looked a bit pale, and assumed it was from work. Jimmy gently kissed her on the forehead and said, "Are you feeling ok? You look pale."  
  
"I'm fine, just really tired that's all." she replied as she slowly stood up and headed to the door with them.  
  
After they left, she finished up talking to her mother and left to head up to her apartment to rest and to wait on Bobby so she could tell him that he soon would be a father.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Translation for verse in spanish  
  
You would know the secret of death.  
  
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?  
  
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day  
  
cannot unveil the mystery of light.  
  
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death,  
  
open your heart wide unto the body of life.  
  
For life and death are one,  
  
even as the river and the sea are one.  
  
But you have been so faithful, so trusting, so true.  
  
Though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn't do.  
  
And you have been forgiven and now at last you're free. 


	30. Announcement

She entered their apartment and put her stuff in the bedroom and pulled out a pair of cotton shorts and spaghetti strapped top and went in to take a shower before Bobby returned. The hot water eased the tension in her muscles and put some life back into her worn out body. Fifteen minutes later she headed into the living room and put on a soothing CD and lit some candles around the living room and turned the lights off so she could rest for a bit. As the music began to play she lay on the couch thinking of the baby she was carrying and waited for Bobby to come home.  
  
Bobby couldn't wait to see Kim again. It had been torture on him to leave her for almost two weeks, but now he was back home. As he entered the dimly lit apartment, he saw her stretched out on the couch, illuminated by the soft glow of the candles she'd lit. He knelt down next to the couch and gently kissed her, bringing her out of her trance-like state. Her eyes fluttered open and smiled up at him as she sat up, making room for him to sit down. He noticed she looked paler than normal and immediately became concerned.  
  
"Are you feeling ok?" he asked as he put his hand on her forehead to make sure she wasn't running a fever.  
  
"I'm fine." she replied softly, happy to have him back and anxious to tell him the good news.  
  
Bobby pulled her close and said, "God I missed you while I was gone."  
  
"I missed you too." she replied quietly as she rested her head against his chest as he put his arms around her waist.  
  
"How did things go for the two weeks I was gone." He asked.  
  
"Pretty routine. Nothing out of the ordinary from what we are used to seeing. As well as being thankful I didn't have to put up with Carlos for two weeks." she replied as the stress of the past couple weeks was starting to catch up with her.  
  
Bobby began to laugh and said, "He's not that bad. I'm sure you could have handled it if you had been working with him."  
  
"Oh no, trust me. It would have been a knockdown drag out match," she said snickering, forcing herself to stay awake.  
  
"Come on, you look exhausted, lets get you to bed." he said gently as he helped her off the sofa.  
  
"I've got to tell him." Kim said to herself as she forced herself to stay awake, but her body had other plans.  
  
She felt his arm around her waist, helping her slowly towards the other room. Almost as soon as she lay down she was sound asleep. Bobby thought it was kind of odd for her to be this wore out but didn't think anything of it, she probably just pushed herself too hard the past couple of weeks. Around two-thirty in the morning Kim woke up feeling extremely nauseated. She quietly slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom trying not to wake up Bobby. Where she hadn't eaten anything since the day before all she had were dry heaves. After the heaves had past, she went into the kitchen to fix something to drink to try and settle her stomach a bit. As she sipped on a glass of water, Bobby came in a short time later and said, "What are you doing up?"  
  
"Just felt a bit nauseous that's all." she replied, taking another sip of water.  
  
"When have you last eaten?" he asked as he sat down beside her.  
  
"Not since yesterday afternoon, the guys were cooking some god awful stuff at work that just about made me sick and I haven't been able to eat since." she replied looking over at him.  
  
"Do you want me to go get something for you?" he asked, thinking where the nearest 24-hr grocery store was.  
  
"I hate to ask you to, but if you wouldn't mind that would be great." she replied as another wave of nausea swept through her.  
  
"Make a list of what you want and I'll go change." he said standing up to get dressed.  
  
Kim grabbed a piece of paper and an ink pen and wrote down a list of thirteen items for him to bring back.  
  
When he returned, she handed him the list and took another drink of water as he looked over what she'd written.  
  
"What on earth is she going to do with Vanilla Ice cream, hot fudge and dill sandwich pickles and gummy worms and ranch dressing?" he asked himself as he scanned over the rest of the list.  
  
He glanced over at her and said, "Is there anything else you need?" still trying to make sense of the list she'd given him.  
  
"That's all I can think of for now, if I think of anything else I'll call you." she replied quietly as another wave of nausea past through her system.  
  
He gently kissed her on the head and headed for the front door. Kim got up and searched through the cabinets and found some saltine crackers and began to nibble on them till Bobby got back. Ten minutes later she thought of six more things she might want to snack on later on and called his cell.  
  
"I hate to do this to you but could you add a couple more things to the list I gave you?"  
  
"Sure, what else needs to be added." he asked as he grabbed an ink pen.  
  
"Potato chips, strawberry sauce, green peppers, jalapeno pepper sauce, ricotta cheese, Sierra Mist soda and apple cider." she replied.  
  
He wrote down the list of things she'd told him and knew something wasn't right. "I'll be home in about fifteen minutes and fix you something to eat." He replied as he headed into the store with the most bizarre grocery list he'd ever seen in his life. He gathered everything on the list and headed to pay for the stuff and head home.  
  
On his way home he saw Alex leaving Haggerty's and stopped and talked to her for a bit.  
  
"Hey you, what's up?" he asked her.  
  
"Not much, you?" she replied, noticing it didn't look like he knew anything was up.  
  
"Late night grocery run," He replied; "I swear I've never seen such a bizarre grocery list in my life."  
  
"Really? What all did she want?" She asked, trying not to let on that she knew what was going on.  
  
"What would a person want with gummy worms and Ranch salad dressing?" Bobby asked her.  
  
"Not a clue." she replied, the thought of eating that turned her stomach.  
  
"I'd better let you get home." Alex replied as she got ready to head down the street.  
  
"You want a ride?" he asked.  
  
"Nah, I'll be fine. It's a short walk anyway and I could use the exercise." she replied smiling.  
  
"Ok, see you later." Bobby replied as he pulled off.  
  
Alex waved back and said to herself chuckling, "She still hasn't told him, although I'm surprised he hasn't figured something's out of whack with a grocery list like that."  
  
A short time later he pulled up in front of their apartment and grabbed the bags from the passenger seat and headed back up to where Kim was. As he unlocked the door, he saw her sitting on the couch and headed into the kitchen to put everything up. After getting the stuff put up, he headed back to where she was and said, "What do you want me to fix you?"  
  
"A little bit of ice cream with a drizzle of hot fudge and three pickle slices with some apple cider." she replied, leaning against the couch as she felt lightheaded again.  
  
"All in the same bowl?" he asked somewhat confused.  
  
"Yeah, why?" she asked as she massaged her temples briefly.  
  
"Just a strange combination that's all." he replied as he got everything together for her.  
  
A short time later he carried the bowl and glass of cider in and sat down next to her.  
  
"Are you sure nothing happened while I was gone?" he asked puzzled by her sudden change in appetite.  
  
After taking a bite of the ice cream sundae with hot fudge and pickles she said, "I meant to tell you this earlier but I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to say it."  
  
"What's on your mind?" he asked as she lay across his lap still eating the most disgusting concoction of a sundae he'd ever seen in his life.  
  
"Earlier in the week when I was working with Alex I got extremely lightheaded and we went back to the station when I just about got sick from what the guys were cooking. Later on it hit me what could be causing it and my prediction was right." she began to say.  
  
"What were you right about?" he asked curiously.  
  
She put the ice cream down and took his right hand and put it on her stomach and said smiling, "I found out we're having a baby."  
  
"Did you just say we're." he broke off, unable to finish his sentence after what he just heard.  
  
"Having a baby? You heard right." she said smiling, looking up into his eyes.  
  
"How far along are you?" he asked as he wiped tears of happiness from his eyes.  
  
"About four weeks." she replied as she took another bite of ice cream.  
  
"Does anyone else know?" he asked as he tried to block out the smell of pickles and ice cream together.  
  
"Alex does, but I told her not to tell anyone because I wanted to tell you first." she replied softly.  
  
"Will your appetite get any stranger?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Possibly, because of all the hormones, why?" she replied as she finished the last bit of ice cream.  
  
"Just wondering, that way I won't be as surprised next time you hand me a bizarre looking grocery list." he said chuckling.  
  
"Very funny." she replied giggling as she got up to take the dishes back into the kitchen.  
  
He followed along, just incase she got lightheaded all of a sudden or incase she felt like she was going to be sick.  
  
"Ready to head back to bed for a bit?" he asked, seeing that it was almost 3:30 in the morning.  
  
"Sure," she replied smiling as she made her way into the other room with him not too far behind her.  
  
A short time later she was sound asleep again and Bobby lay awake next to her for hours because all he could think about was the baby that was growing inside of her. He'd always wanted to have children and having her being the one carrying the baby made it much more special. As she slept on, he placed his hand on her stomach and whispered softly, "Las bendiciones sobre usted, mi bebé no nacido aún Seguramente dentro de dormido y tan entibiar, el Sueño debe venir fácil a los que son no nacido aún, Cuando el fabricante tan idea silenciosamente su forma. El sueño, mientras usted puede, así que aguado y entibiar, Para fuera de este mundo es una tempestad terrible, Pronto usted descubrirá el sabor de sus lágrimas, así que duerme ahora mi amó uno, mi Bebé, mi Estimado. "  
  
After he'd finished he drifted off to sleep, with the thoughts of his future son or daughter playing across his mind. Morning came quickly for the two of them, but luckily both he and Kim were off this weekend so he let her sleep, because she needed all the rest she could get. He carefully got up and fixed a cup of coffee and sat back down next to Kim as she slept. He gently pulled her over towards him and cradled her sleeping form in his arms and began to wonder what their child would look like.  
  
A short time later he dozed off with Kim in his arms when he heard the sound of the phone ringing. He picked up the phone and spoke quietly into it, hearing Jimmy's voice on the other end wanting to know if Kim was around because Joey wanted to ask her something. When he told Jimmy she was still asleep he became worried because he knew that she never slept late on a weekend. Bobby assured Jimmy she was fine, just really tired after last night's shift at work. Several minutes later Joey was on the phone, asking if he'd left one of his video games at the apartment. Bobby put the phone down and gently laid Kim back down and went to check on the video game Joey had asked about. When he picked the phone back up and told Joey it was here, he heard Joey ask if they could come over and pick it up. Jimmy got back on the phone and told Bobby if it were ok with him they'd be over to pick the game up shortly. He replied that was fine and he'd see them shortly.  
  
He got up and put on a pair of windsuit pants and a clean shirt since they were coming over. Ten minutes later there was a knock at the front door and Bobby headed to let Jimmy and Joey in. Jimmy had warned his son to be quiet since his mother was still asleep so he wouldn't bother her. Bobby let the two of them in and Joey made a beeline for the video game he wanted. Jimmy looked in on Kim as she slept on, unaware that her son and ex-husband had come over. Jimmy looked over to Bobby and said, "What aren't you telling me? I know she was exhausted by the look in her eyes when I came to get Joey last night."  
  
Bobby looked over at Joey and then over to Kim and said, "Last night she told me she's pregnant."  
  
"Has she started asking for ice cream, hot fudge and pickles yet?" Jimmy asked grinning.  
  
"Yep, that was what she wanted to eat at almost 3 in the morning." Bobby replied laughing, remembering the awful concoction that she ate that morning.  
  
"Trust me it gets even better as time goes on." Jimmy said sarcastically.  
  
Just then Joey came over and tugged on Jimmy's arm and said, "Can I sit with mommy for a bit before we leave?"  
  
"Yeah, just be quiet so you don't wake her." Jimmy said quietly to his son.  
  
Bobby and Jimmy watched as Joey rested his head on his mother's shoulder as she slept. Five minutes later Jimmy quietly called for Joey so they could go. Joey whispered something into his mother's ear and gave her a gentle hug and headed back over to where Bobby and Jimmy were standing.  
  
"You two be careful." Bobby said as Jimmy and Joey prepared to leave.  
  
"We will. Oh, will you have Kim call over when she gets up? Joey will probably want to talk to her." Jimmy asked.  
  
"Sure thing." Bobby replied as he watched the two of them leave.  
  
Two hours later after Jimmy and Joey had left, Kim still hadn't woken up and Bobby reluctantly went in and woke her up, knowing if he didn't she'd probably be up all night long. He sat down next to where she slept and said, "Hey Kimmy you should probably get up."  
  
When she didn't stir, he got a cold can of beer out of the fridge and pressed it against the side of her neck. That did the trick and he watched as she rolled over and looked up at him.  
  
"How long have I been asleep?" she asked as she carefully sat up.  
  
"Close to fifteen hours." He replied as he held her close, thinking about the baby.  
  
"You even slept through Jimmy and Joey coming over. Before they left Joey came in and sat with you for five minutes before he and Jimmy left."  
  
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked as she curled up against him.  
  
"You need your rest, especially now that your pregnant." he replied.  
  
"Did you tell Jimmy?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, he knew I wasn't telling him what was going on." Bobby replied as he stood up.  
  
"What do you want for breakfast."  
  
"The same thing I had this morning, I think at the moment that's all my stomach can tolerate right now."  
  
"Oh, Joey wants you to call him at Jimmy's since he couldn't talk to you when he was here." Bobby told her as he headed in to fix another ice cream sundae.  
  
"Ok, I'll do that while you fix the ice cream." she said as she reached for the phone.  
  
She dialed the number for Jimmy's apartment and after several rings she heard Jimmy pick up.  
  
"Hey is Joey around?" Kim asked, as a wave of nausea swept through her.  
  
"I hear your craving those freaky ice cream sundaes again," he said laughing.  
  
"Word travels fast eh?" she said giggling, remembering Jimmy's reaction to the hot fudge sundae with pickles.  
  
"You better believe it," he said as Joey came running over towards the phone.  
  
Several minutes later Joey was finally able to talk to his mother on the phone.  
  
"Hi mommy," the little boy said happily.  
  
"Hi baby, how are you?" she asked him.  
  
"Pretty good, you?"  
  
"Much better. I'm sorry I wasn't up when you and your dad came over," she said as Bobby brought her the sundae.  
  
"It's ok, you looked tired last night when daddy came in got me so I figured you'd still be sleeping." Joey replied laughing.  
  
"Go tease your dad and ask for an ice cream sundae and see what he says." Kim said laughing to her son.  
  
Joey turned his head and asked Jimmy if he could have an ice cream sundae like mommy. Jimmy's eyes got wide as dinner plates as he responded sarcastically, "I thought you'd grown out of that stage."  
  
Joey and Kim laughed as they listened to Jimmy in the background. Five minutes later Kim said, "I'd better let you go so you can go eat lunch with your dad."  
  
"Ok mommy, I love you." Joey replied as he twirled the phone cord through his fingers as he glanced at his dad in the kitchen fixing lunch.  
  
"I love you too sweetheart. Behave for your dad and I'll see you on Monday after work." She replied.  
  
With that they both hung up the phones and headed off to eat, Kim finishing her sundae and Joey eating lunch with his father.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Spanish translation  
  
Blessings upon you, my baby unborn  
  
Safely inside asleep and so warm,  
  
Sleep must come easy to those who are unborn,  
  
As the maker so silently fashions your form.  
  
Sleep, while you can, so watery and warm,  
  
For outside this world is a terrible storm,  
  
Soon you'll discover the taste of your tears,  
  
So sleep now my loved one, my Baby, my Dear. 


	31. Telling the grandparents

After finishing up talking to Joey, Kim got up and headed for the kitchen to see what Bobby was up to. She found him in the kitchen fixing some sausage, but the overpowering smells from it cooking sent her stomach for a loop, and she headed back to the bathroom as another wave of nausea went coursing through her. After her stomach settled down she headed back into the bedroom to relax and prayed he didn't bring the sausage anywhere near her. Several minutes later he returned to where she was and sat down next to her.  
  
"You want anything?"  
  
"Not really," she said faintly, she could still smell the odor from the sausage which began to wreck havoc with her stomach again.  
  
"Later today if you want to, we can go tell the good news to the soon to be grandparents." he said smiling.  
  
"As soon as my stomach settles a bit, we'll head out. Ok?" she replied, looking up at him.  
  
"Sounds good, I'll go call my mom and give her the heads up we're coming over later." Bobby said as he headed for the phone.  
  
As soon as the nausea had subsided she began to get ready.  
  
Ten minutes later they sat in the living room of her mother's apartment talking back and forth.  
  
"You still look pale, are you sure your ok?" Kim's mother asked her daughter while glancing over at Bobby.  
  
"I'm fine trust me," she replied to her worried mother.  
  
"I've got good news for you though," Kim said, silently anticipating her mother's reaction.  
  
"Really? Well tell me what it is." Her mother replied smiling.  
  
Just then Bobby's cell phone began to ring.  
  
"Man people have impeccable timing." Bobby said laughing as he stood up and went into the next room after looking at the number flashing on his phone as it rang.  
  
Kim turned her attention back to her mother and said, "The good news I have for you is that you're going to be a grandmother again."  
  
"How far along?" her mother asked beaming.  
  
"About four weeks."  
  
Just then Bobby returned to the room and Kim noticed something wasn't right.  
  
"Who was that?" she asked as he sat down.  
  
"Alex," he replied, thinking back to what he'd just heard.  
  
"What did she want?" she asked, fearing something had happened.  
  
"There was a fire at my mom's apartment complex."  
  
"Is she ok?" Kim asked, shocked at what she'd just heard.  
  
"Just a bit shaken up. She took in a little smoke on her way out but other than she sounded fine."  
  
"You two go and make sure she's ok. We can finish this later." Kim's mother said, noticing how worried Bobby looked.  
  
The three of them headed to the door and Kim's mother wished her daughter and Bobby congratulations about the baby and watched them head towards the elevator to check on his mother.  
  
When they got out to his car and headed towards his mother's complex Kim said, "Did Alex say how bad the fire was?"  
  
"No, she didn't."  
  
"Hopefully it wasn't on her floor." Kim replied softly.  
  
As they arrived, the crew from the 55 was still there on the scene. Faith and Bosco were keeping back bystanders when they saw Kim and Bobby pull up. They got out and headed towards Alex who had seen them arrive and were headed towards them.  
  
"How is she?" Bobby asked Alex as they headed over to the ambulance where is mother was at.  
  
"She's fine, just took in some smoke that's all." Alex replied, walking over with them to the ambulance.  
  
Bobby and his mother began talking in Spanish while Alex and Kim stood talking a short distance away.  
  
"I tried calling your apartment and no one answered, I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Alex said, referring to the call she'd made to them earlier.  
  
"We were at my mother's," Kim replied looking over at Bobby.  
  
"Did you tell her?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied as she noticed Bobby motioning for her to come over.  
  
"I bet she's excited, right?" Alex replied smiling.  
  
"That she is. Be right back." Kim replied smiling and headed towards Bobby and his mother.  
  
"Lets take my mom back to our place and have Alex call us when she can come back to her apartment." Bobby said.  
  
"Sounds good." Kim replied smiling as she and Bobby helped his mother from the ambulance.  
  
Bobby went to talk to Alex while Kim and his mother headed back to his car. A short time later he jogged back over to the car and headed back to their apartment.  
  
When they got back home, Kim and his mother sat down in the living room and began talking while Bobby went in and fixed something to drink for his mother and himself and got Kim a bottle of water. As the three talked back and forth for some time Bobby's mother remembered the call he'd made to her saying that he had something he needed to tell her.  
  
"Earlier when you called you said you needed to tell me something. What is it?" she asked, noticing something was different about her son.  
  
She sat and listened as she heard her son tell her that soon she would be a grandmother. Hearing those words brought tears to her eyes as she began to think about what her future grandson or granddaughter would look like. She gave both her son and Kim a warm hug and they sat and talked forever about the rambunctious behavior Bobby had when he was a kid. Kim got a kick out of the stories, not pegging Bobby as the rambunctious type. Bobby had begun to blush from embarrassment from some of the stories as Kim committed some of the stories to memory.  
  
A short time later Alex called and let them know it was ok to bring his mother back to her apartment. They finished up the embarrassing stories and headed out to take his mother back home. When they arrived at the complex they walked up to her apartment with her.  
  
"Do you want us to stay with you for a bit?" Bobby asked as his mother opened the door to her apartment.  
  
"I should be fine, plus you two have planning to do about the baby." She replied smiling.  
  
"Ok, see you later." Bobby replied over his shoulder.  
  
"You two take care and congratulations." She replied before she shut the door to her apartment.  
While they were driving home Kim asked, "Want to start picking out potential names for the baby when we get home?"  
  
"I'd love to." He replied, glancing over at her.  
  
"I still can't see you as the rambunctious type when you were a kid," Kim said laughing lightly.  
  
"I'm sure your mother has a few horror stories with you too." He replied chuckling a bit.  
  
"I could tell you I was an angel as a kid but I know you wouldn't believe me." She said, looking over at the comical expression on his face.  
  
"You're right. I wouldn't believe it unless I heard it from your mom or your sister." Bobby replied laughing, wondering what mischief she had gotten into when she was a kid.  
  
When they arrived back home, they both grabbed a notepad and sat on the couch and thought up names for the baby. Thirty minutes later Kim had already filled up a whole page with possibilities and put stars next to her two favorite names.  
  
"Done already?" Bobby asked, glancing up at her as she skimmed over her list.  
  
"Yep, even picked out my two favorites." She replied as she looked over the list again.  
  
"Which are?" he asked as he looked up from his list.  
  
"Aidan Zachary for a boy and Keira Nicole for a girl. What are the favorites off your list?"  
  
"Alina Michon for a girl and Alexander Antonio for a boy." He replied.  
  
"Now all we have to do is what and see if we're having a boy or a girl." Kim said smiling.  
  
The next day at work, Bobby and Kim told everyone at the station the good news. Everyone was thrilled with the news and wished them both congratulations. 


	32. Days Go By

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, between school, work and my sister's hectic Competition cheerleading schedule I haven't had much time to type. (Hence the portion later on in the story about the cheerleading competition, because I was at one in Myrtle Beach so I thought I'd include that in there since it was a really neat experience to watch.)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
By the tenth week, the morning sickness had started to ease up a bit, but there were still a few occasional bouts of nausea that were really strong. Most of the time it was a light or moderate sensation that she could deal with, the really strong ones were the type that grew tiresome to go through. She still became tired very easily but now to add to the mixture of pregnancy induced changes she started to go through the mood swing stage. One minute she could be happy as a lark the next she could be ready to rip your head off, you never knew what to expect. It seemed like when she was in one of her more irritable moments the slightest thing could set her off unexpectedly. Alex happened to be walking by during one of the mood swings and shot a sympathetic glance towards Bobby and said, "Hormones again?"  
  
"Unfortunately yes," he replied as Kim headed upstairs to her locker.  
  
"At least you know its not permanent." She replied, wondering what she'd be like if she were pregnant.  
  
"That's a good thing that it's temporary, because the last time I saw her like this was when Jimmy did something to set her off. As far as I can tell he hasn't done anything to her so its gotta be hormone-induced." Bobby said, chuckling slightly.  
  
"If I had to pick between the nausea or the mood swings I'd pick the nausea, because you can take something for it if you have to. This there's nothing you can do except ride it out." Alex replied, giggling slightly.  
  
Bobby shook his head and laughed and headed up to check on Kim to make sure she was ok.  
  
Kim was sitting down for a bit when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned and saw Bobby coming up.  
  
"Everything ok?" he asked as he sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, just got a little lightheaded again." she replied softly.  
  
"Try lying down for a bit and see if that helps," he said, never taking his eyes off her.  
  
As she lay down beside him, she felt the lightheadedness let up a bit.  
  
"Don't forget next Monday morning is our first prenatal appointment," she said looking up at him as she rolled onto her back.  
  
"I'll be right there with you through the whole thing. I'll probably be nervous a bit since I've never been to one of these before though."  
  
"All they will probably do is get a health history, determine the due date, and blood work. That's what I remember going through with Joey. Normally the first visit is the longest, then the others are shorter," she replied, hoping to ease a bit of his anxiety.  
  
The rest of the week flew by and before they both knew it, Monday was upon them. As they drove towards the clinic, she looked over at him and could tell he was still nervous.  
  
"Still nervous aren't you," she said glancing at his expression as he drove.  
  
"That noticeable?" he asked chuckling.  
  
"Just a little. Trust me everything is going to be fine." she said trying to be reassuring.  
  
"Will you be seeing the same doctor you saw with Joey?"  
  
"As far as I'm aware of, she's still here so yes" she replied as they pulled into the parking lot of the clinic.  
  
It didn't take long for them to get in to see Dr. Cunningham. As they sat together in one of the exam rooms waiting for her to come in, they sat talking briefly when they heard a knock on the door of the room. Kim and Dr. Cunningham had been friends before she'd ever met Jimmy or Bobby, which seemed like forever ago.  
  
As Dr. Cunningham walked through the door she said, "How have you been Kim?"  
  
"Oh, the usual on top of being married and expecting another baby." she replied smiling.  
  
"How's Joey doing? He's what about 8 or 9 now?" Dr. Cunningham asked.  
  
"As feisty as ever for a 9 yr old." Kim replied giggling.  
  
Kim turned her attention to Bobby and said, "This is Brenda Cunningham, one of my good friends."  
  
Dr. Cunningham smiled and extended her hand to him and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Nice to meet you too." he said smiling, relaxing a bit more since things seemed to be relatively casual.  
  
"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Dr. Cunningham began to say as she opened up Kim's chart; "Has anything changed with your health or medical history?"  
  
"Nope, nothing's changed till now at least." she replied.  
  
"Are you taking any kind of medications?"  
  
"Other than a multivitamin, no." she replied.  
  
"Has it made you any more nauseous than what you already are with being pregnant?"  
  
"No, I got the same brand you recommended last time after the previous one I had made me sicker than what I was before I began taking it."  
  
"Very Good; Let's go ahead and discuss when you're due." Dr. Cunningham said.  
  
As Kim began to go through her last menstrual cycle the doctor took notes on what she heard and figured up her due date.  
  
"Your expected due date is July 19th. You two ready to see the baby?" the doctor asked smiling.  
  
"Most definitely," Kim replied smiling looking over at Bobby who was just as excited as her to see their child on the ultrasound.  
  
"Instead of giving print outs of the images, we now record them to a video tape." Dr. Cunningham said after getting the machine ready and getting the gel to put on the lower part of Kim's abdomen.  
  
"Joey should get a kick out of watching it when we show the tape to him." Kim said, looking over at Bobby who was eager to get a view of his child.  
  
"You know he will." Bobby replied smiling back at Kim as he sat in a chair beside her.  
  
Kim shut her eyes briefly as the cold gel was placed on her. Bobby looked down and noticed she was trying not to squirm as the gel was put on and said snickering, "Little cold eh?"  
  
"Don't even go there." Kim replied giggling, unable to hold still any longer.  
  
Dr. Cunningham laughed to herself as she dimmed the lights before beginning the procedure.  
  
"You ready?" she asked Kim as she turned on the monitor that would display the pictures of the ultrasound.  
  
"Yep." She replied smiling looking over at Bobby as Dr. Cunningham placed the transducer on her abdomen.  
  
As the first images appeared on the screen, the doctor repositioned the transducer until she found the spot where the baby was. Both Kim and Bobby felt tears in their eyes when they saw the first images of their child. It was one thing to take a test and find out your pregnant. Seeing the images of the baby solidified the feeling that in nine months they would be seeing their new son or daughter. The two listened as they heard the fluttering heartbeat of their child. A thirty-minute ultrasound went by incredibly fast and before they knew it the visit was over, but they left with a copy of the ultrasound on videotape, something they both would treasure.  
  
As they headed back to get ready for work, all they could think about was the videotape of the ultrasound. She was thrilled to be having another baby, they both felt they were ready to take on the responsibility even though it hadn't been planned. For the rest of the day, all he could think about was the tape. It cemented the fact that he was going to be a father. Even the guys at the station could tell something was up with him. He had gone upstairs and Kim was getting a bottle of water out when Alex came up and said, "What is up with Bobby today? He's seems more mellow but way hyper."  
  
Kim had to laugh at Alex's question and replied, "We had our first ultrasound this morning, I think everything is still sinking in right now."  
  
"How did everything go?" Alex asked.  
  
"Everything looks good. I swear he was a nervous wreck through the whole thing and completely changed once he saw the ultrasound." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"Who was a nervous wreck?" came Bobby's voice as he headed over towards where Alex and Kim were standing.  
  
"You were this morning till we got to have the ultrasound done." She replied looking over her shoulder at him.  
  
He rolled his eyes at her and replied chuckling, "I told you I would be."  
  
"What was it like seeing the ultrasound?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"It's hard to put into words because that is when it really hits you. Don't get me wrong finding out with a test is one thing but putting a visual picture to the results really cements the fact in place." he replied as he wrapped his arms around Kim's slightly protruding stomach.  
  
Just then a call came through and the two of them had to head out. Alex stood shaking her head, silently laughing when Jimmy came up behind her.  
  
"What's up with him? He's got a weird vibe going." He said as he watched the two of them leave.  
  
"First ultrasound." She replied.  
  
"Ah, I remember going through that with Joey. I was a nervous wreck." Jimmy replied, thinking back to when he experienced his first ultrasound when Kim was expecting Joey.  
  
"I guess then its normal for a first time parent to be nervous?" Alex asked, looking over at Jimmy, seeing the distant look in his eyes as he thought more about when Joey had been a baby.  
  
As Kim and Bobby pulled up outside of Madison Square Garden and headed in with their gear. When they entered the building their ears were some what blasted by loud music.  
  
"What on earth do you think is going on in there?" Bobby asked her as they headed towards the door.  
  
"Look around and maybe you'll get a clue." She replied giggling as she began to reminisce briefly as they headed into one of the large halls of the building.  
  
He looked around and saw himself surrounded by cheerleaders. He groaned silently to himself, he'd never really been to fond of them when he was younger and not much had changed since then either.  
  
"What school are they all from?" he asked as they were directed over towards a huddle of cheerleaders on the practice floor.  
  
"This isn't your everyday high school cheerleading competition. This is an all-star competition; I'm guessing a championship competition. And the people here cheer for gyms, it's not necessarily a school type competition since it's a sanctioned NCA event." She replied, noticing all the NCA posters and stuff.  
  
"NCA?" he asked breaking through the throng of people to get to the injured person.  
  
"National Cheerleaders Association. You mean to tell me none of your sisters were into stuff like this?" she asked snickering softly.  
"I'm afraid they weren't. But if they had I probably would have gone crazy." He replied, the loud music starting to get on his nerves.  
  
Kim rolled her eyes at him as she finally got through to the injured girl. Bobby began to check the girl over while Kim talked to some of the girl's squad members to find out what happened. Once she'd gotten the information she needed, she knelt down and helped Bobby with the young girl lying on the floor.  
  
"What happened?" he asked Kim as he checked the girls level of consciousness.  
  
"From what I got from her squad members, they just finished performing out on the main floor and came back here to talk to their coach. She was up in a stunt and when she came down the people who were supposed to catch her coming down missed and she hit the mat quite hard. She was able to finish the routine but when she came back here she collapsed." She replied starting to get vitals on the girl.  
  
Kim finished vitals and went and got the c-collar off the gurney and began to put it around the girl's neck. Several minutes later the girl came too and one of the girls from her squad came over and began to talk to her while Kim and Bobby finished checking her over. The girl looked over at Kim and said, "Can she at least stay till awards are given out? I think there are only three or four more squads left before our division is done."  
  
Kim looked over at Bobby when he said, "She can stay but she won't be able to go out there with you because she might have hurt her neck so she has to stay still incase there was any damage done. But as soon as the awards are over we're taking her to the hospital. Deal?"  
  
The girl looked over at her squad members who said it was ok and replied, "Deal. If you two want to go watch the remaining parts of the competition we'll keep an eye on her."  
  
Kim looked over at Bobby who was about ready to say something when she took him by the hand and led him towards one of the barriers keeping people off the competition floor. They still had a clear view of the girl, who was talking to the rest of her squad members about their performance.  
  
Bobby looked over at Kim and said, "How do you know so much about this type of stuff?"  
  
"Because I've been to these before." She replied as the next group got ready to take the floor.  
  
"On which end, the observing end or the competing end?" he asked.  
  
"Both." She replied, glancing back over to the young girl.  
  
As the next group took the floor, Bobby noticed Kim seemed a bit distant, she was probably was remembering the last competition she was in, however long ago that was. As soon as the music began she focused on the group on the floor. He watched the group begin their routine and realized this group of cheerleaders was totally different than the ones he'd seen when he was in school. All the cheerleaders did when he was in school was shout out cheers at sporting events; they never did anything like this. He was amazed and saw them in a different light now.  
  
As soon as the last group finished their routine it was only a few minutes till the awards would be given out. Kim and Bobby put the girl up on the gurney and moved her closer to the floor so she could see her squad from where she was. As soon as the awards were over and the girls squad carried there fourth place trophy off the floor they all walked out to the ambulance to watch her leave. The girl's parents went to the hospital with her and Kim looked at the girl who had been talking to her fallen friend and said, "Would you like to go with her?"  
  
"Can I?" she asked softly.  
  
"Sure, hop into the front seat since her parents are back here." Kim said as she closed the back doors to the ambulance.  
  
As soon as the girl was in they headed towards the hospital. Kim monitored the girl's vitals to make sure everything was fine enroute to the ER. Once they arrived they unloaded the gurney and headed into the hospital with the girl's parents and her friend in tow. After getting her situated, they took the family and her friend over to the waiting area and told them the doctor would be out shortly to talk to them once he'd checked her over and ruled out any spinal injuries.  
  
On their way back to the station after the call was over, all the memories from when she had been on a competition squad came back to her. The three years she spent on the squad were three of the most exciting years of her life. Traveling to various cities across the country performing at NCA sanctioned events with her squad was one of the most exciting things she'd ever done. Bobby looked over at her and said, "Did going to that competition bring back all the memories from when you used to compete?"  
  
"Yeah it did," She replied smiling as they pulled back into the station. 


	33. The Wave

After their shift was over they headed to pick up Joey so they could talk to him about the baby and show him the ultrasound. Bobby went on to their apartment to get the video ready while Kim headed down to get Joey and talk briefly with her mother. After spending ten minutes talking back and forth she and her son headed home for the evening. As they headed to their apartment Kim said, "I've got something exciting to show you."  
  
"Is it a video game?" Joey asked.  
  
"This is better than a video game," she replied smiling as they walked through the door of their apartment.  
  
Bobby heard Joey chattering as the door open and began to smile when he saw the two of them come through the door.  
  
"What have you been up to today squirt?" Bobby asked jokingly to Joey.  
  
"Instead of squirt can I be a squirtle?" Joey asked laughing.  
  
"Ok squirtle, what have you been up to?" he replied chuckling at Kim's reaction to Joey's new nickname.  
  
"Not much. Grandma and I ran some errands and I've been working on trying to beat the next trainer on my pokemon game but that's about it." Joey replied as he hopped onto the couch.  
  
"What did you guys want to show me?" Joey asked looking at his mother.  
  
Bobby turned on the VCR and pressed the play button on the remote.  
  
Kim looked over at Joey and pointed to the baby on the screen said, "See that?"  
  
Joey focused on the image his mother pointed at on the screen and nodded his head in response when she replied smiling, "That is going to be your new brother or sister."  
  
Excitement filled Joey when he heard his mother tell him that soon he would have a new brother or sister.  
  
"If you had to pick between a sister or a brother which would you pick?" Bobby asked Joey, just to see what his reaction would be.  
  
"Either would be fine with me. Just as long as I can pick the nickname for the baby." Joey replied slightly laughing and hardly able to sit still.  
  
Bobby looked over at Kim and smiled and said, "Sounds fair to me, what do you think?"  
  
"Sounds fair to me too." She replied, noticing the happiness in her son's eyes.  
  
As she entered the twentieth week of pregnancy the mood swings had subsided as had the morning sickness, but occasionally a really obnoxious odor could set her stomach off. They had reached the half- waypoint now, and in about four months their new child would be born. She'd since stopped going out on runs because of the baby but had taken over doing the scheduling and paperwork that Doc normally did. One afternoon at work, she sat doing paperwork a bunch of the firefighters had gone into the next room to lift weights. One of the guys went to turn the CD player and when he hit the play button, extremely loud music blasted through the firehouse. At the first sound of the music she felt a sharp jab in her stomach from the baby. Unable to concentrate with extremely loud music and the constant jabbing she said,  
  
"Is there any way you all can turn that down to a moderate roar?"  
  
"I thought you liked this song," one of the firefighters said jokingly.  
  
"Yeah but when you're trying to work and can't write because of being jabbed every time the music gets louder it tends to ruin a song no matter how much you like it." she replied, looking up from the papers.  
  
The rest of the guys began to laugh and turned down the music in the next room. As the baby settled down, she went back to working on the paperwork that she had scattered in front of her. She took a sip from the bottle of water she had when Bobby and Alex returned from their latest run.  
  
"Still hard at work I see," Alex said sarcastically as she and Bobby sat down next to Kim.  
  
"Very funny you two." She replied smiling as she placed the completed paperwork in a folder, trying to organize the papers in front of her.  
  
As the three of them sat talking D.K, Walsh and Jimmy were still lifting weights in the next room. Walsh looked over at Jimmy and D.K and said,  
  
"I wonder what would happen if we accidentally turned the radio up?"  
  
"Walsh, do you really want to piss a pregnant woman off? Trust me, it's not a pretty sight." Jimmy replied.  
  
Kim heard the conversation going on in the next room and said, "First person to touch the volume on that radio is in for it. You want to blare music take the radio outside and play basketball or something."  
  
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea." D.K said as he grabbed the radio and headed down the stairs.  
  
Jimmy and Walsh rolled their eyes and grabbed a basketball and headed outside just as the radio roared to life once again.  
  
"Finally, a little peace and quiet in here." Kim said laughing and Bobby and Alex's reaction.  
  
"What's up with the whole radio thing?" Alex asked, not sure what was going on.  
  
"Oh, earlier before you two came back I was sitting here working on paperwork when those three came up to start lifting weights and one of them turned on the radio which was up full blast. Not only did it scare the living daylights out of me, but sent the baby on a jabbing spree the music was so loud." She replied laughing.  
  
"I swear sometimes they can be so immature." Alex said shaking her head as she got up to go join in the basketball game.  
  
After the shift was over they had returned home and had a late dinner. Joey had gone to bed and Bobby was taking a shower while she finished washing the dishes from dinner and began to put them up. She sighed contently, wondering if she was carrying a little boy or a little girl. Either way it didn't really matter, just as long as the baby was healthy that was the main concern. She felt the baby move around a bit and smiled, placing her hand on top of her stomach. She finished up the dishes and headed into the bedroom to change. Not too long after she'd curled up in bed on her right side, she felt the baby kick again and giggled softly looking out the window at the full moon casting its warm glow upon the city. Bobby returned from his shower and found her obviously thinking about something as she looked at the full moon outside.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her softly as he sat down beside her.  
  
"Just wondering if we are having a boy or a girl." She replied quietly, looking into his sparkling brown eyes as he placed a tender kiss on her swollen abdomen.  
  
He smiled back at her and said, "I've often wondered the same thing. We can always find out when you have your next ultrasound, even though I think it be more exciting to find out when the baby is actually born."  
  
"I think it would be more exciting to wait and find out too, although it makes it a little bit harder to buy clothes and start a nursery." She replied softly.  
  
"We'll manage." He replied smiling, pulling her close and gently kissed her.  
  
Later on in the wee hours of the morning Kim awoke to the baby having a kicking fest. She shifted slightly and watched Bobby as he slept with his back against her stomach. How he slept through the kicking she didn't know but soon that was about to change. After a five-minute break from the kicking Kim had just about drifted back to sleep when she felt the baby kick extremely hard. Bobby felt something kick him in the back and looked over at Kim and said chuckling, "I'm guessing that wasn't you that just kicked me was it?"  
  
"Nope, that honor goes to little one here." She replied putting his hand on her stomach as the baby kicked once more right above his hand.  
  
He laughed lightly as he felt the baby stop kicking and settle down once more.  
  
"Shall we go back to sleep, providing there aren't any more kicking spells?" he asked smiling.  
  
"Sounds good to me," she replied stifling back a yawn.  
  
The next morning Joey sat eating a bowl of cereal when Kim came out from taking a shower and getting dressed.  
  
"Someone is up early this morning." Kim said as she fixed herself a bagel and some orange juice.  
  
"How's the baby doing?" he asked as Kim sat in the chair beside him and began to put cream cheese on her bagel.  
  
"Kicking up a storm." She replied, laughing lightly.  
  
"Does it hurt?" Joey asked softly.  
  
"Not really. Want to feel the baby kick?" she asked.  
  
"Sure!" Joey replied excitedly as he stood beside his mother and put his hand on her abdomen.  
  
A few minutes later he felt the baby kick and began to laugh.  
  
"Did I do that when I was little?" he questioned as he finished his cereal.  
  
"Yep, you kept your dad up several nights in a row because whenever he tried to sleep you would kick and wake him back up." She replied smiling.  
  
Joey began to laugh even harder and said, "That had to have been funny."  
  
Kim looked up from talking to Joey and saw Bobby was headed towards them.  
  
"You two are up early." He said, as he fixed a pot of coffee.  
  
"Just sitting here talking about the baby." She replied as she put her empty glass in the sink and sat back down.  
  
"How are the nicknames coming?" Bobby asked Joey.  
  
"I've got some really good ones that I hope you all like." Joey replied smiling.  
  
"How about tonight after work we go over them and see what you've come up with?" Kim said looking over at Bobby.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," he replied smiling.  
  
If he wasn't excited enough already, the thought of going over nicknames for the baby just added to it and he took off to his room to think up some more.  
  
"I called and got the scheduled our next prenatal visit. It's in two weeks, at the same time as our first one was but this appointment is on a Friday instead of a Monday, is that ok?" She asked him, as she stood up for a bit.  
  
"Sounds good. Do you want to bring Joey along for this one?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think it be a good experience for him to come with us." She replied smiling.  
  
Later on that afternoon she'd finished the paperwork at the firehouse since it had been kind of slow over the past few days, so she went about the task of organizing things in the kitchen of the firehouse since it seemed like the guys had no clue what organization meant. While she was straightening up the cabinets, Bobby and Alex returned to the station. Alex took one look around the kitchen and said, "Wow, you can actually find things around here now."  
  
Kim laughed and said, "I had to do something because the lack of organization was starting to bug me."  
  
"We're getting ready to go for lunch, want to come with us?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Sure, I'd love to. I'll pick up where I left off when we get back." She replied smiling as she grabbed her purse and followed them towards the stairs.  
  
Two weeks later the three of them sat in the doctor's office waiting for their visit with the doctor. Joey could hardly sit still which caused Bobby to laugh and whisper to Kim; "At least this time I'm not the one who's nervous."  
  
Kim playfully elbowed him in the side and was getting ready to say something back when it was their turn to see the doctor. The three of them headed into the exam room and waited for Dr. Cunningham to come in. Joey sat on Bobby's lap as they talked back and forth about what other tests would be done on this visit.  
  
"What kind of tests are they going to do today?" Bobby asked as they waited on the doctor.  
  
"They'll probably do blood work, the ultrasound and some measurements." She replied, when she heard a knock at the door.  
  
"Who's that?" Joey asked softly.  
  
"It's probably just the doctor." Bobby replied back as the door opened, and sure enough Dr. Cunningham walked through the door.  
  
She looked at Joey sitting on Bobby's lap and said smiling, "So this must be the big brother Joey. Are you anxious to see your new brother or sister?"  
  
Joey blushed and said shyly, "Yeah."  
  
"So, how have things been going now that your at the half-way point?" the doctor asked Kim.  
  
"Things have been pretty smooth, although it seems like this baby likes to kick a lot more than Joey did when I was expecting him." Kim replied smiling, feeling another kick.  
  
"On today's ultrasound are we determining the gender of the baby?" the doctor asked.  
  
"Not for this one, we've decided we want to be surprised and find out when the baby's born." Kim replied smiling, look over at Bobby.  
  
"That seems to be the trend with people now a days. It makes it much more exciting finding out that way instead of knowing going in what you are having." She replied grinning.  
  
"That's what we said when we were discussing whether we wanted to find out or wait." Kim said laughing lightly.  
  
"Let's go ahead and start and get some measurements and we'll start the ultrasound." Dr. Cunningham said as she got the things she needed for the measurements and went ahead and got the gel out so it could warm up a bit.  
  
After getting the measurements written down she got the ultrasound machine ready and said to Joey, "Can you get that bottle of gel off the counter for me?"  
  
Joey nodded his head and hopped off Bobby's lap and got the bottle and carried it over to the doctor.  
  
"Do you want to go ahead and put some of that on your mom for me?" she asked Joey, seeing his eyes light up and being able to help out.  
  
"Really?" he asked excitedly.  
  
"Yep, today you can be an assistant for your mom." She replied smiling.  
  
Kim and Bobby both began to smile at Joey's reaction to getting to help out. Joey put the gel on his mother's abdomen under the watchful eye of the doctor and watched the screen anxiously for a view of his soon to be brother or sister. In a matter of moments the doctor spotted the baby and stopped moving the transducer for a moment. Joey looked at the screen and smiled and said, "It looks like the baby's waving at us."  
  
Dr. Cunningham smiled at Joey's comment and said, "Did you see that Joey? The baby just yawned."  
  
When the visit was over they left with another videotape and a very hyper Joey who talked non-stop about the ultrasound. As they were driving back home Kim said, "Do you want to stop by and show your mom the tape?"  
  
Bobby smiled and said, "That's a wonderful idea."  
  
He got his cell phone out and called to let his mother know they were coming by for a bit before they headed home but didn't tell her about the tape.  
  
When they pulled up, Joey was in charge of carrying the tape as they headed to his mother's place. His mother heard a knock at the door and saw her son, Kim and Joey on the other side. She opened the door and welcomed them all in and noticed the tape that Joey was holding.  
  
"What brings you all by?" she asked as she gave Bobby a warm hug.  
  
"We thought you might like to see the ultrasound we just had done this morning." He replied as they walked into the living room.  
  
Kim, Joey and his mother sat on the sofa while he put the tape into the VCR and took a seat across from them in one of the chairs as the tape began. She felt tears forming as she looked at the ultrasound and had to laugh when it appeared that the baby was waving since its hand was up near its face.  
  
"How far along are you?" she asked Kim while Bobby rewound the tape after it was done playing.  
  
"Twenty weeks." She replied smiling, feeling the baby kick lightly.  
  
"Ah, the half-way point. In another four months little Joey here will have a new sibling." His mother said looking over at Joey.  
  
The three of them spent close to thirty minutes sitting around talking about the baby before they had to leave to get ready to go to work. While Bobby went upstairs to get ready when they'd arrived back at their apartment, Kim and Joey took the tape down to her mother's apartment and said they'd wait on him to change before they started it. As they sat and wait Joey talked non-stop about getting to help out at the doctor's office, which made everyone laugh. Five minutes later Bobby knocked on the door and Joey ran to let him in so they could start the tape.  
  
After the tape was over the two of them had to leave to head down to the firehouse. After bidding her mother and son goodbye, she and Bobby headed back out to the car and headed to work, wondering what type of nicknames Joey had come up with for the baby. 


	34. It's Time

As her due date got closer everyone at the station was anxious. Everyone watched her like a hawk when she was there working on paperwork, which got a little annoying after a while but she said nothing about it because she knew it wouldn't do any good. Even going up a small flight of stairs was very tiresome especially since she was nearing the end of her pregnancy.  
  
A week before her due date they went to their last prenatal appointment. Everything on the ultrasound was normal and she'd had no complications with the pregnancy thus far. Doc had told her to stay home and rest since it was getting close for the baby to be born. He'd greatly appreciated her doing all the paperwork and scheduling for him but as her due date approached he wanted her to relax and not worry about anything else. Joey was getting anxious to see his new brother or sister and normally that's all he could talk about when he wasn't playing video games. Kim's mother came up and stayed with her till Bobby got off from work just as a precautionary measure to make sure nothing happened unexpectedly.  
  
Several days had past after her expected due date and she could tell Bobby was getting nervous. She tried to assure him she was fine and that the same thing had happened when she had Joey but it was working. Even Jimmy told him the same thing when he overheard Alex and Bobby talking, but it didn't make much difference. When she was a week overdue the doctor had her come in for another ultrasound to make sure the baby was doing ok. Since the baby's heart rate was normal the doctor decided to wait and see if the baby came on its own.  
  
"Since everything is fine with the baby we'll wait and see what happens. But if the baby hasn't come by the 31st then we'll either induce labor or you can have the baby by c-section." Dr. Cunningham said to both of them.  
  
"Hopefully we'll see you before the 31st gets here." Kim replied smiling as she and Bobby got ready to leave.  
  
When they got back to the car and headed home, Bobby glanced over at Kim since she was resting her head on the glass.  
  
"Everything ok?" he asked as he put his hand on her stomach.  
  
"Just tired and achy that's all." She replied softly, looking out the window as they headed home.  
  
When they arrived home, he helped her out of the car and together they headed up to their apartment. As they walked through the door Bobby asked, "Do you want to lay down for a bit? It might take some of the pressure off your back."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied smiling a bit.  
  
When she lay down, Bobby stretched out beside her and told her of the competition Jimmy had started with everyone at work.  
  
"Did I tell you what Jimmy's doing down at the station?" he asked.  
  
"Do I really want to know?" she asked, afraid to hear what her ex-husband was plotting.  
  
"He's having everyone at the station write down their guesses on the baby's gender, length & weight." He said snickering.  
  
"Leave it to him to do that. What are the guesses so far?" she asked.  
  
"DK says it will be a boy that is 20 inches long and weigh 8 lbs. 15 oz; Walsh says it will be a boy that is 21.5 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 10 oz. Lombardo says it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 10 lbs. 5 oz. Alex says it will be a girl that is 20 inches long and weigh 7 lbs. 6 oz. Jimmy thinks it will be a boy that is 21 inches long and weigh 9 lbs. 8 oz" He replied.  
  
"Leave it to Alex to go against the crowd." She replied laughing, seeing that all the guys thought she was having a boy.  
  
"I thought that was funny too." He replied chuckling.  
  
"Who do you think will be the closest?" she asked.  
  
"Honestly I don't know, we'll find out soon though." He replied, watching Kim start to drift off to sleep.  
  
He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and fell asleep alongside her, anxiously awaiting the birth of his son or daughter.  
  
On the 29th the day began as any other would. Kim had gotten up to fix something to eat and looked in on Joey who was still asleep. She headed in to take a shower and let the hot water soothe the sore muscles of her back. She glanced down at her large stomach and wondered when she would be having the baby. She knew the wait was driving Bobby crazy but since neither she or the baby were in any danger he didn't say anything. After spending about thirty minutes in the shower she changed clothes and got Joey up so he could eat breakfast. While Joey straightened up his room she made herself an omelet with green peppers, tomatoes and small pieces of ham in the middle. When Joey joined her in the kitchen he asked for an omelet with just cheese in it. Bobby awoke to the smell of eggs cooking and got up. He walked in just as she put the plate in front of Joey.  
  
"Good morning," she said smiling as he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Good morning to you too." He replied, resting his hands on her pregnant stomach.  
  
"What kind of omelet do you want?" she asked as she started to pour the egg mixture into the skillet.  
  
"Just ham and cheese in mine." He replied, taking a seat next to Joey.  
  
Several minutes later she put the plate in front of him and sat down and they enjoyed a quiet family breakfast, talking primarily about how anxious they were for the baby to arrive. After breakfast was over she was getting ready to start on dishes when Bobby looked up at her and asked curiously, "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Getting ready to do dishes." She replied, starting to run water in the sink.  
  
"Oh no you don't." he replied, getting up from the table; "You cooked breakfast so I'll do the dishes."  
  
Bobby turned and looked at Joey who had just finished eating and said, "Hey Joey, take her in the living room and play video games or something."  
  
"Me doing dishes isn't going to hurt anything," she said as Joey took her hand and began to lead her to the living room.  
  
"You need to be resting and not worrying about stuff like this." He replied, watching Joey lead her to the living room.  
  
She decided not to argue with him and followed her son into the living room and propped herself up on the couch, while he stretched out in the floor and started up the game system. After finishing the dishes, Bobby straightened up the kitchen and joined Kim and Joey in the living room. They played video games up until it was time for Bobby to get ready to leave for work. As he got up to get ready for work he asked, "Is your mom coming over after I leave for work?"  
  
"She should be here any minute." She replied watching him leave to get ready for work.  
  
As she turned her attention back to her son and the game he was playing, a soft sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on the arm of the couch. A short time later there was a knock at the door and she slowly began to stand to answer it. Joey looked at his mother and got up off the floor said, "I'll get the door."  
  
Kim eased herself back down on the couch and curled up as Joey let in his grandmother. As Kim's mother entered she gave her grandson a hug and headed over to where her daughter was curled up on the couch. Joey locked the front door and took up his spot back on the floor and began to the play the game he'd paused. She raised her head up off the couch and saw her mother putting her purse in one of the chairs and head towards where she was laying.  
  
"How are you feeling this afternoon?" her mother asked, leaning on the back of the couch.  
  
"A little tired but pretty good," she replied sitting up slowly.  
  
She saw Bobby heading towards the living room out of the corner of her eye as she talked to her mother. Joey paused the game he was playing and hopped up on the couch beside his mother and joined in the conversation they were having. After Bobby left for work Kim looked over at her mother and said, "I hate to crash the party, but I'm going to go lay down for a bit."  
  
Her mother watched her head into the other room and stayed with Joey in the living room talking to him while he played video games. She curled up under a blanket on her side and soon drifted off to sleep unaware that she would soon be going through the first stages of labor. Several hours later she awoke to a constant ache in her lower back. She sat up and rubbed her lower back, hoping to cause the ache to dissipate so she could go back to sleep for a bit. After several minutes she was able to lay back down and go back to sleep. Around seven-thirty her mother came in and woke her up, asking her what she wanted for dinner.  
  
"You feel up to eating dinner?" her mother asked as she sat next to her daughter.  
  
Kim shook her head no, feeling a sharper pain in her back than what she'd felt earlier.  
  
"I'm going to go get dinner for the rest of us, will you be ok alone?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, running her hands through her hair.  
  
"I'll have Joey stay here with you incase you need anything while I'm gone." her mother said.  
  
"Ok, I'm gonna go take a shower and see if it helps ease the pain in my back." Kim replied, slowly standing up.  
  
As Kim shut the door behind her, Joey looked up and saw his grandmother on her way back to the living room.  
  
"Hey Joey, what do you want for dinner?" she asked.  
  
"Pizza!" he exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"You behave for your mother while I'm gone. You know the drill incase something would happen, right?" she asked.  
  
"Yep," Joey replied turning off the game station.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can." She replied giving her grandson a kiss on the cheek before she left.  
  
Ten minutes later Kim emerged from the bathroom and slowly headed towards Joey in the living room. He heard his mother coming down the hall and turned his head in her direction. When she sat down next to him on the couch he could tell something wasn't right.  
  
"Mom? Are you ok?" he asked putting his hand on her arm.  
  
"I'm fine baby, just sore and tired." She said, as she felt the pain that had started in her back descend into her legs and felt the once mild contractions that had started while she'd slept begin to intensify as they became more frequent.  
  
She got up again and slowly walked back down the hall hoping that walking might help reduce the pain her legs. She stopped near the bathroom when a very strong contraction tore through her. She leaned heavily against the wall and waited for the contraction to stop before she continued on, stopping in the bathroom again. Another sharp contraction hit her as she sat on the toilet when she felt her water break. As soon as the contraction was over she headed back to where Joey was and eased herself down on the couch and said, "Hey Joey, go call Bobby and tell him the baby's coming."  
  
Joey ran into the kitchen and got Bobby's cell phone number off the refrigerator door and picked up the phone and dialed the number, looking nervously at his mother, seeing her wince as another contraction hit.  
  
Bobby and Alex had just returned to the station from a call when his cell phone began to ring. He looked at the number flashing and felt his stomach tighten as he answered. As soon as Joey heard his voice he began to talk a mile a minute telling Bobby what had happened.  
  
"Joey? Wait a minute, slow down and tell me what's wrong." He said nervously as he looked over at Alex, stopping in his tracks.  
  
As soon as Alex heard Bobby tell Joey to slow down she spun around to face him, seeing a look of fear cross his face.  
  
As soon as Joey repeated everything he'd said only slower, Bobby replied, "Leave a note for your grandmother and unlock the door, I'm coming to get you."  
  
As soon as he got off the phone with Joey, Alex looked over at him and said, "Is Kim ok?"  
  
"She's going into labor. You drive I've got to make some calls on our way over to get her." He replied as they ran back to the bus.  
  
Bobby called the doctor first and told her what Joey had told him and that they were coming in. As soon as they pulled up he and Alex dashed up to the apartment, where Joey had the stuck his head out the door watching for them.  
  
To Joey, it seemed like an eternity had gone by before Bobby and Alex arrived. He'd already gone around the apartment making sure everything was turned off except for the light in the living room. They both heard the sound of a siren approaching and knew Bobby was here. Joey looked up at his mother and asked softly, "Is there anything else I can do?"  
  
"Not really, you've been a great help so far." She replied, hugging him close. Several minutes later both Alex and Bobby were in the apartment and Joey was very relieved when he saw them come through the door. Joey and Alex went on ahead and took the bags they'd packed in advance down to the bus and came back up incase something happened. Bobby helped her off the couch and together the group of four headed down to the bus. Alex drove and Joey sat in the passenger seat beside her, glancing back at his mother as they drove. Luckily the traffic was light for that time of evening so it didn't take long for them to get to the hospital, arriving there a little after eight o clock at night.  
  
While she got situated to her room after being admitted, Bobby called his mother to let her know the baby was coming and Alex called down to the station and let them know what was going on. About five minutes later Kim's mother arrived on the unit after finding Joey's note in the apartment when she'd arrived from getting dinner. She spotted Bobby on his cell phone and headed in his direction to find out how her daughter was doing. As soon as things settled down in her room, Bobby took her mother and Joey in to see her while Alex waited for some of the guys from the station to come down. The group of four sat talking for a while as they waited for the labor to progress when it hit her mother that she should call Melanie to let her know that her sister was going to be having the baby soon.  
  
"I'm going to go call Melanie and let her know what's going on, I'll be right back." Her mother said as she stood up.  
  
"Can I talk to Aunt Melanie too?" Joey chimed in before she'd left the room.  
  
"Sure," her mother replied smiling.  
  
Bobby placed a gentle kiss on Kim's forehead and said smiling, "I guess we don't have to worry about coming back on the 31st, now do we."  
  
"Leave it to you to crack jokes." She replied smiling as Dr. Cunningham walked in.  
  
"You want to listen to any CD's or anything?" Bobby asked Kim, going through the bag they'd brought with them.  
  
"Sure, go ahead and put something on." Kim replied as the doctor closed the door.  
  
"Let's see how things are coming." Dr. Cunningham said, pulling the curtain around the bed incase anyone walked through the door.  
  
"Five centimeters so far. Everything is progressing slowly but nicely." The doctor replied smiling before leaving the room.  
  
Kim began to relax as the music from the CD he'd put on played softly until another strong contraction hit. As the contraction passed she slowly collapsed back onto the bed, not wanting to aggravate her back anymore than what it already was.  
  
"Do you want me to rub your back and see if that helps any?" he asked, noticing the discomfort she was in.  
  
"You can try and see if it helps." She replied as another contraction ended.  
  
"Scoot down a bit so I can sit behind you." he said.  
  
After she moved down he sat behind her and began to massage the lower part of her back and said, "Let me know if this helps any."  
  
A few minutes later he stopped and said, "Feel any better?"  
  
"Much better," she replied, happy to have some temporary relief from the pain in her back.  
  
Kim looked over at Bobby who had gone back to sitting in the chair by the right side of her bed and could tell he was thinking about something.  
  
"You look deep in thought, wanna share?" she asked, rolling onto her right side looking at him.  
  
He heard Kim's voice cut through his thoughts and bring him back to his senses and replied softly, "Just thinking about how close we are to seeing our new son or daughter."  
  
Kim began to smile and said, "I know. The wait is the hardest part of the whole process."  
  
"I'm gonna grab something to drink, you want anything?" he asked as he stood up.  
  
"A cup of ice would be fine." She replied, sitting up for a bit.  
  
"Ok, be right back." He said, before placing a gentle kiss on her lips before he left.  
  
When he left Kim's room he found her mother, Joey, Kim's sister Melanie, his mother and sisters all sitting out in the waiting room talking up a storm. Joey looked up and saw Bobby and asked anxiously, "Is the baby here yet?"  
  
"Not yet. It'll be a little while longer before the baby is here." He replied seeing the expression on Joey's face.  
  
"Be right back, gotta take her a cup of ice." He replied before he headed off down the hall towards her room.  
  
She looked up as Bobby came back into her room carrying the soda and her cup of ice and said, "Don't you think my mom should have been back by now?"  
  
"Don't worry she's fine. Your mom, Joey, Melanie, my mom and sisters are all sitting outside talking." He replied laughing.  
  
"I should have known," Kim replied laughing.  
  
Bobby sat down on the edge of her bed and passed her the cup of ice and said, "The first thing out of Joey's mouth when he saw me was 'Is the baby here yet.' "  
  
She had to laugh at the comment her son had made, when Bobby said, "I think he's getting anxious to be the big brother."  
  
"And I know someone who is going to be an amazing father." Kim replied after placing a piece of ice in her very dry mouth.  
  
One hour later the contractions had intensified in severity and were coming much more frequently. It was hard for him to see her in so much pain but the end result would more than make up for it. Minutes later one of the nurses came in to check and see how she was doing and see how far dilated she was. As soon as the latest contraction subsided, the nurse said smiling, "You're up to 9 centimeters, and progressing nicely."  
  
As another very strong contraction ended, she collapsed back onto the bed. Exhaustion lingered on her mind from all of the strong contractions, but pushed it away focusing on how soon it would be before their child was born. Things outside her room were settling down a bit and most of the firefighters from the 55 would be coming over after their shift but D.K and Jimmy sat with Alex anxiously awaiting any news. D.K looked over at Jimmy and said, "You didn't forget your estimation paper did you?"  
  
Jimmy rolled his eyes at D.K and said, "Not the best time to ask that, but much to your disappointment it's here in my pocket."  
  
Alex just shook her head at them and began to wonder how Kim was doing.  
  
Kim's mother and Joey left for a moment to get something to drink and update the waiting area on how she was doing. Alex looked up and saw them heading for the soda machines and headed in the same direction.  
  
"How's she doing?" Alex asked, removing a soda from the machine.  
  
"She's in quite a bit of pain with the contractions. She's dilated 9 cm so we just sit and wait till the time comes." She replied as Joey got a soda from the machine.  
  
"How's Bobby holding up to all this?" Alex questioned.  
  
"He's hardly budged through the whole thing. Compared to Jimmy when Joey was born I have to say he hasn't lost his cool through any of this. Jimmy on the other hand just about went nuts on us." Kim's mother replied before she and Joey headed back to her room.  
  
Alex walked backed over to her chair and sat down when Jimmy asked, "How's Kim doing?"  
  
"In a lot of pain, but doing fine." She replied.  
  
"I'm betting she's not going for an epidural to help relieve some of that either." Jimmy said looking towards her room.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"Because she didn't have one with Joey either, no matter how much I tried to persuade her to." He replied, looking from Kim's room over to Alex.  
  
Bobby glanced up at the clock on the wall; it read 9:15 pm. He too was fighting exhaustion but didn't dare say anything because that was nothing compared to what Kim was going through. Joey had fallen asleep across his grandmother's lap and Melanie was still wide-awake though. Melanie got up to go get something to drink and put her hand on Bobby's shoulder and said, "You want anything to drink?"  
  
"Coffee would be fine." He replied, not taking his eyes off Kim.  
  
Melanie nodded and disappeared from the room and headed down the hall. Kim closed her eyes briefly as the latest contraction had ended, and tried to rest a bit because she could tell that soon it would be time to start pushing. The door to her room opened and one of the nurses walked in, followed by Melanie with a soda and a cup of coffee for Bobby. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open and saw her sister and one of the nurses walk in.  
  
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked Kim after closing the door to the room.  
  
"Pretty tired along with having the increased urge to push." She replied, wincing at another contraction.  
  
"Let's see how far along you are." The nurse replied, getting a pair of latex exam gloves; "You're up to 10 cm so as soon as Dr. Cunningham comes in you should be able to start pushing."  
  
As the nurse hurried off to find Dr. Cunningham, Kim sat up trying to prepare herself for the pushing stage of labor. Bobby sat down on the edge of the bed beside her gently began to rub her lower back. A sigh of relief escaped her as some of the pain in her back went down, but it didn't last long. Joey awoke to the sounds of movement in the room and saw nurses getting supplies ready. Dr. Cunningham entered the room smiling and said, "I hear you're finally going to have that baby."  
  
"Finally," Kim replied, bracing herself for another contraction.  
  
"You're completely dilated so on the next contraction you can start pushing." She said.  
  
Feeling the next contraction coming, she braced herself and got ready to start pushing. Joey sat on his grandmother's lap watching what was going on, feeling a little scared seeing his mom hurting so much. Beads of sweat were rolling down her face partially from the hot flashes she'd started to have and partially related to the effort she was putting in trying to push the baby out. Melanie fixed two cold wash cloths for her, one to put on the back of her neck to try and cool her down and the other to put on her forehead. Joey got off his grandmother's lap and sat to the left of his mother, he could tell she was utterly exhausted. The intense pain kept increasing as the baby got closer and closer to coming out. Pushing helped ease the pain but didn't help that much. Tears made their way down her face as she pushed through another excruciating contraction, a small cry leaving her mouth as she felt close to passing the baby's head.  
  
By 9:43 pm the baby's head was almost ready to crown. During a brief break in between contractions she said tiredly, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."  
  
"It's almost over baby. I know you're tired, only a little while longer." Bobby whispered into her ear as she pushed her way through another contraction.  
  
She heard the doctor telling her something as well as Bobby whispering something in her ear but the burning pain she felt as the baby's head crowned drowned out what was being said. She began to tremble a bit as she felt the next contraction tear through her, the burning pain increasing causing her to cry out in pain and tears stream down her cheeks.  
  
She focused on the task of pushing, not paying close attention to what was being said around her until she heard the words, "The baby's head is out." Dr. Cunningham began to suction the baby's nose and mouth and said, "You're almost through. One more hard push and the baby will be out."  
  
Kim dug in and on the next contraction pushed as hard as she could, feeling another bout of pain as the baby's shoulder's appeared. In an instant she felt a sense of relief as the baby slipped into the hands of Dr. Cunningham. Kim collapsed against Bobby, physically exhausted from everything. In almost no time a shrill cry of a baby filled the room. Dr. Cunningham smiled as she placed the baby on Kim's chest and said, "Say hello to your new daughter." 


	35. Welcome Home

Bobby's vision began to get blurry as he looked at his daughter resting on Kim's chest. She was absolutely beautiful; she had a full head of dark hair, and large brown watery eyes. Tears began to slip down his face as Kim began to talk softly, trying to appease their crying daughter. A short time later one of the nurses picked the baby up and went to get her length, weight and wrap her in a blanket to keep her warm and brought her back over to them. Several tears slid down her cheeks as her daughter was placed back into her arms wrapped in a pink receiving blanket. She felt Bobby's hand brush the tears from her face and turn her head towards his placing a loving kiss upon her lips.  
  
Joey looked at the tiny bundle in his mother's arms and began to smile. Melanie and Kim's mother stood side by side wiping tears from their eyes as they looked at the beautiful baby daughter Kim now held.  
  
"What should we name our daughter?" he whispered into her ear, as he held his daughter's tiny hand.  
  
Kim gazed upon her daughter's face before turning to Bobby and said, "How about Keira Michon?"  
  
Bobby repeated the name Kim had suggested and looked upon his daughter resting in her arms and smiled as he said, "It's perfect."  
  
Kim looked up at Bobby, tears still glistening in his brown eyes and said, "Would you like to hold your daughter?"  
  
"I'd love to," he replied smiling, carefully picking up the tiny bundle from Kim's arms and gently cradled her in his arms. It seemed as if a million different emotions were racing through him as he looked upon his daughters' precious face. As Bobby talked softly to Keira, Joey gave his mother a hug when she said, "What do you think of your new sister?"  
  
"She's beautiful," Joey replied looking at Bobby holding her.  
  
Melanie was next in line to give Kim a hug and wiped a stray tear from her face said softly, "Thank you for letting me be here for this."  
  
"No problem. Whenever it's your turn I'll be there to help you through everything." She replied softly, as a smile played across her face.  
  
Alex and the rest of the waiting room were waiting anxiously for any news as to what was going on. The rest of the firefighters would be arriving in a little over an hour to see how Kim was doing. She got up and got a cup of coffee and sat back down, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She looked her watch and sighed, it was 9:55 p.m.  
  
Taking a sip of her coffee, she looked down the hall towards Kim's room when she thought she heard something. She focused on the sound since all was quiet on the unit. When the sound became a little louder, she recognized the sound as the cry of a baby. A smile spread across her face as she wondered how Kim and the baby were doing.  
  
Kim's mother gave her daughter a warm hug and said softly, "Keira's beautiful, she'll definitely make you proud."  
  
"I know," she replied softly, smiling as she glanced over at Bobby and Keira.  
  
"We'd better head out so you can get some rest." Her mother said quietly.  
  
Kim gave her mother, Melanie and Joey one last hug before they left for the evening and sighed softly as she watched Bobby interact with his daughter. Keira began to fuss and no matter what Bobby did she wouldn't settle down. He gently placed Keira back into Kim's arms when it hit him he should go update everyone in the waiting room. Kim noticed his expression change and said, "What's wrong?"  
  
"I totally forgot about everyone in the waiting room. They're probably climbing the walls by now." He said glancing down at his watch; it read 10:15 p.m.  
  
Kim chuckled slightly since Keira had begun to settle down and said, "Go on and let them know how things are, I'll be fine."  
  
Bobby placed a tender kiss on his daughter's tiny forehead and then lovingly kissed Kim before heading out of the room. D.K and Jimmy had dozed off in their chairs and Bobby's mother and sisters had gone to get some coffee downstairs and should be back any minute. Alex heard footsteps and looked up, seeing Bobby heading in her direction. About the same time as he got to the waiting area his mother and sisters returned with coffee. Alex woke Jimmy and D.K up, and felt butterflies forming in her stomach again, anxious to hear how her best friend was doing.  
  
"Alex, did you have to wake me up?" Jimmy groaned.  
  
"Do you want to know how Kim is doing?" she asked curiously.  
  
Jimmy quickly turned his head and saw Bobby heading towards them, anticipation building inside him about the new baby.  
  
Bobby saw everyone looking at him as he headed towards them, feeling bad he hadn't come out sooner to tell them, but he'd been a little preoccupied with Keira.  
  
"How's Kim?" his mother asked when he reached where they were sitting.  
  
"Exhausted, but fine." He replied, putting his hand in the pocket of his pants and got ready to remove the pictures of Keira to show everyone.  
  
"And the baby?" she asked.  
  
Bobby began to smile as he said, "Keira Michon was born at 9:55 this evening."  
  
"Mi primera nieta," his mother said in almost a whisper as a few tears slipped down her face, looking at the pictures Bobby had handed to her.  
  
"Can we see her?" his mother asked softly.  
  
"Yeah, follow me." He replied, and then said to Alex, Jimmy and D.K, "I'll be back to fill you all in a second."  
  
Alex nodded in response, and saw Jimmy pull out the paper from his pocket. Bobby's mother handed Alex the pictures and followed her son towards Kim's room. As they stood outside the room Bobby said softly, "Lemme check and make sure she isn't asleep before we head in."  
  
Bobby quietly walked in and found Kim cradling a now sleeping Keira in her arms. Kim heard footsteps come into the room and looked up seeing Bobby coming in.  
  
"Up for a few visitors?" he asked.  
  
"Sure," she replied softly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping bundle she held.  
  
She smiled as she saw his mother and sisters come in.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Bobby's mother asked her.  
  
"Tired but much better." She replied softly as Keira began to stir slightly.  
  
While his mother and sisters talked with Kim, he headed back out to where Alex, D.K and Jimmy were.  
  
Alex and Jimmy looked at the pictures and D.K stood behind them, looking at the pictures of Keira from over their shoulder.  
  
"She's absolutely precious, isn't she?" Alex said to the two firefighters looking at the pictures with her.  
  
"That she is," Jimmy replied smiling, looking at the pictures of Joey's new sister.  
  
"You know what Jimmy, I think I just won that little contest you had going at the firehouse too," Alex said laughing.  
  
"We'll see," Jimmy replied to her chuckling as he looked at the paper he had.  
  
"What do you mean we'll see. I was the only one that said she was having a girl." Alex reminded him.  
  
"True but we have to see how close you are in the other categories too," D.K said laughing.  
  
"Why is it that most men can't accept defeat, especially at the hands of a woman?" Alex questioned, trying to avoid laughing.  
  
Bobby walked into the waiting room and caught the tail end of Alex's statement and silently laughed to himself and said, "Did I interrupt something?"  
  
"Not really but you can help settle the argument though," D.K said as he sat down next to Jimmy.  
  
"Keira weighs 7 lb. 12 oz and is 21 in long," Bobby replied laughing, noticing his mother and sisters headed out of Kim's room.  
  
"I'll be back in a second," Bobby told his three friends as he headed towards his mother and sisters.  
  
"We're going to head out because the two of you need some rest." One of his sisters said.  
  
"Keira is one lucky little girl, because I know that you are going to be an amazing father." His mother said, embracing her son; "I'll call you later to make sure things are going ok."  
  
"Ok," Bobby replied, walking with his mother and sisters to the elevator.  
  
After they'd left he returned to where Alex, D.K and Jimmy were and said, "You all want to see the baby?"  
  
"We'd love to," Alex replied, following Bobby down the hall with Jimmy and D.K behind her.  
  
Bobby went in first and the three waited to make sure she was up to having company.  
  
"Alex, D.K and Jimmy are here to see you." Bobby told Kim.  
  
"Really, send them on in," she replied smiling as Keira began to wake up.  
  
As the three of them walked in, Alex couldn't help but smile at the sight of the tiny pink bundle Kim held.  
  
"How's everything going?" Kim asked, noticing Keira watching Alex's movements through sleepy eyes.  
  
"Just fine," Alex replied smiling, as Keira became more alert after having just woken up.  
  
"Taylor, your hogging the baby, let one of us see her," D.K said jokingly.  
  
Kim and Bobby had to laugh when Keira caught sight of Jimmy because she started to cry.  
  
"Good one Jimmy, you scared the baby." D.K said smirking.  
  
"Don't start D.K," Jimmy said, unsure of what he had done to cause Keira to start crying.  
  
Alex couldn't help but laugh with Kim and Bobby. Keira still hadn't calmed down so Bobby carefully picked her up and began to speak softly in Spanish to her, hoping to calm her down. Several minutes later she began to calm down, and didn't cry the next time Jimmy came into her field of vision.  
  
"I still don't know what I did to upset her," Jimmy said, still confused.  
  
"Don't worry about it. At least we all got a good laugh out of it" Kim said smiling.  
  
"Easy for you to say," Jimmy replied, looking at the tiny bundle Bobby held.  
  
For him it brought back all the memories of when Joey was born, which had to have been one of the happiest days of his life. The group of five stood around talking for about ten minutes when Alex said, "We had better go and let you all rest."  
  
D.K and Jimmy both gave Kim a hug before they left the room and Alex did the same wishing her two friends congratulations. As Alex was about ready to leave Kim looked at Bobby and said, "Don't you need to get your stuff from the station?"  
  
"You're right, that and I should probably help Alex straighten the bus up since our shift is almost up." Bobby replied. He had been so preoccupied with Keira he didn't even think about that.  
  
He passed her back to Kim and said, "I'll be back as soon as I get things squared away at the station."  
  
"Why don't you go home and rest, I'm pretty sure they'll put Keira in the nursery for a bit just to make sure she's doing ok. Because if they do I'm going to sleep till they bring her back." Kim replied stifling back a yawn.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"I'll be fine, plus I won't be much company if I'm sound asleep anyhow." She replied sleepily.  
  
"Ok, I'll come back in the morning to see how you two are doing." Bobby said, gently kissing both Kim and Keira on the forehead before he left.  
  
Bobby caught up with Alex at the elevator and headed down to the ambulance still parked outside the ER. They saw Jimmy and D.K heading to wait for a cab when Alex called out to them, "You two want a ride back?"  
  
"Sure why not. Beats waiting for a cab." Jimmy said, heading towards the back of the ambulance.  
  
D.K rolled his eyes at Jimmy and climbed into the back and pulled the doors shut. The primary topic of conversation back to the firehouse was the baby.  
  
"Have you started on a nursery yet?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"I've almost got the wall papering done but that will be what I get done tonight and organize all the furniture." Bobby said, realizing he'd probably be up most of the night.  
  
"If you want some of us from the station can help you get everything done, and you can surprise Kim when she comes home." Alex said.  
  
"That would be great," Bobby replied, anxious to surprise Kim tomorrow with the nursery.  
  
"I'm definitely in, what about you two in the back?" Alex asked.  
  
"Sure I'd love to help out." Jimmy replied, followed by the same answer from D.K.  
  
"After our shift is over I'll give you all a lift over. We can even stop and get dinner before we get started." Bobby suggested.  
  
"Sounds good," Alex replied smiling.  
  
Back at the hospital, Keira had drifted back to sleep after having finished nursing. Kim looked down at her sleeping daughter and sighed contently. Ten minutes later one of the nurses came in to take Keira to the nursery for a four-hour observation period, which would give Kim time to sleep before the next feeding. She hated seeing Keira leave but was so wore out from the events of the evening it wasn't long after she fell asleep.  
  
As Bobby, Alex, D.K and Jimmy walked into the station, all the firefighters rushed over, wanting to know how Kim and the baby were doing. Doc saw Bobby coming in and said, "Ok Caffey, spill the beans about the baby."  
  
Bobby laughed at the eager faces of all his colleagues and said, " Keira Michon was born at 9:55 this evening."  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Carlos asked.  
  
"She and the baby are doing just fine. I imagine both of them are asleep right about now." Bobby replied glancing down at his watch as he passed the pictures of Keira around to his colleagues.  
  
"Come on Bobby, let's get the bus cleaned up so we can get started on our little surprise project." Alex said, turning to head back outside.  
  
Bobby turned and followed Alex back outside while the rest of the firefighters circulated the pictures of Keira through the group. After they finished cleaning up the bus they headed upstairs to get their stuff out of their lockers. Jimmy and given the pictures of Keira back to Bobby and he put the pictures up on the door of his locker next to the pictures of him, Kim and Joey.  
  
When their shift was over, Alex, D.K, and Jimmy waited on Bobby outside by his car. Faith, Bosco, and Ty were heading home and noticed the group standing by his car when Ty said, "What are you three doing?"  
  
"Waiting on Bobby so we can help finish the baby's room." Alex replied.  
  
"Did Kim have the baby tonight?" Ty asked.  
  
"Yeah she had the baby at 9:55 this evening," Alex replied.  
  
Faith and Bosco heard the news and headed to where Ty and the rest of the group from the firehouse were standing.  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Faith asked.  
  
"She's asleep." Bobby replied, heading out of the firehouse towards his car.  
  
"How's the baby doing?" Bosco asked.  
  
Bobby had left one picture in his pocket incase anyone across the street wanted to see her and passed the picture to Faith and said, "Keira's doing just fine. Probably asleep like her mom."  
  
As Faith looked at the picture of Bobby's little girl she said smiling, "She's absolutely beautiful. Congratulations."  
  
The rest of the cops wished him congratulations, when Faith said, "You all need any extra hands to finish the nursery?"  
  
"Sure, we all were going to pick up dinner before we got started." Bobby replied.  
  
"I can take four in my mustang," Bosco chimed in, seeing who all needed a ride.  
  
"We'll all just go with you then Bosco," Ty said.  
  
"Hey Bobby, where do you want to get dinner from so I can follow you." Bosco asked.  
  
"What do you all want?" Bobby asked.  
  
"How about Chinese?" Alex suggested.  
  
The rest of the group agreed and everyone piled into their respective rides and followed Bobby to a Chinese restaurant not too far from their apartment. After a brief dinner they all headed to his apartment and got started on transforming the spare room of the apartment into a beautiful nursery for Keira.  
  
Bobby and Alex finished the wallpaper while Jimmy and D.K applied border around the wall. Faith, Bosco, and Ty organized furniture once they were done with the wallpaper and border. Faith and Alex hung the curtains and valence and stocked the changing table with supplies. After everything was done, the group stood around the door and looked at their handiwork.  
  
"What do you think Bobby?" Alex asked.  
  
"It's perfect. Kim is going to be surprised to see this." He replied smiling, looking over at Alex.  
  
As everyone filed out of the room, they turned off the light in the room and dispersed.  
  
The group that had come with Bosco had already left and Bobby said to Alex, D.K and Jimmy, "Come on I'll take you all home."  
  
After having dropped the three of them off at their respective homes, Bobby returned home and took a quick shower and collapsed into bed, thinking about Kim and Keira before drifting off to sleep.  
  
Piercing rays of sunlight broke through the window of the bedroom and woke him up. Rolling over to look at the alarm clock, it read 9:30 am. He got up and straightened up the apartment before getting dressed and fixing something to eat so he could pick up Kim from the hospital. Before he left, he called Kim's mother and his mother and sisters and let them know about the welcome home party/baby shower that had been planned by Alex for that morning and gave them the details. Kim's mother came up with Joey and stayed in the apartment to let the guests in while Bobby left to go pick up Kim and Keira. When Bobby entered Kim's room she was up getting her stuff together for her trip home.  
  
"Need any help?" Bobby asked, slipping his arms around her waist.  
  
"Nope I've got everything under control here." She replied smiling, looking over at Keira who was sound asleep.  
  
In almost no time they were headed home from the hospital with very precious cargo on board. Kim glanced over her shoulder to the backseat where Keira was still asleep in her carrier, oblivious to anything going on. As he drove, Bobby hoped that Kim liked the nursery that everyone had pitched in and put together as a surprise for her. As they neared their apartment Kim said to Bobby, "What are we going to do about a nursery?"  
  
"Let's talk about that when we get home." He replied smiling.  
  
Kim noticed a twinkle in his eyes when he answered her question and realized something was up.  
  
"What have you been up to while I was in the hospital overnight?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"You'll see." He replied as he pulled up in front of their apartment complex. Kim unhooked Keira from her carrier and followed Bobby up to their apartment. When they walked through the front door of their apartment, Kim was shocked to see Alex, Joey, Jimmy, her mother, Bobby's mother and sisters all sitting around talking.  
  
"What's going on?" Kim asked surprised, looking over at Bobby.  
  
"A welcome home party/baby shower." Alex said smiling, clearing off the presents on the sofa so she and Bobby could sit down.  
  
"You guys shouldn't have." Kim said smiling, looking at her friends and family who had gathered in their apartment to welcome her and Keira home.  
  
"Come on and sit down." Alex said, moving the last few presents onto the coffee table.  
  
Kim and Bobby sat down next to Alex who began to start passing presents to Kim. Bobby held Keira while Kim began to open the gifts her family and colleagues had gotten for her. Once everything had been opened, Alex looked over at Bobby who gave her the signal that it was time for the big surprise.  
  
"There is one more surprise we have for you." Alex said as she stood up.  
  
Alex got a blindfold and placed it over her friend's eyes and helped her to stand as Jimmy guided her towards the nursery. Alex opened the door to the room and everyone filed in. Once everyone was situated Jimmy removed the blindfold from Kim's eyes. When she felt the fabric lifted from her face, she opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw.  
  
The spare room in their apartment had been converted into a beautiful nursery. A mauve pink valence and curtains had been hung in the window. The walls had been wallpapered with white wallpaper that had mauve pink ribbons running vertically. The border applied around the top of the room had white carousel horses with mauve pink and baby blue harnesses alternating on each horse. The furniture in the room was the same as she had used when Joey was a baby. A rocking chair was placed by the window, and the only new furniture in the room was a bookcase with children's books, a CD player sitting in the bookcase which was next to the crib, and a shelving unit in the closet that was stocked with sheets, blankets and various other items, and a small dresser had been moved into the room which was full of baby clothes.  
  
"What do you think?" Bobby whispered.  
  
"It's beautiful." Kim replied, feeling tears stinging her eyes at the sight before her.  
  
She turned around to her friends and family and said, "Thank you all so much. I never expected all this."  
  
Bobby walked over and placed Keira in the crib since she was sound asleep, and turned on the baby monitors and carried the other one with him back to the living room, where everyone had returned to.  
  
Later on after everyone had left, Kim had returned to the nursery and sat down in the rocking chair watching Keira as she slept. She sat thinking about how perfect her life had become. She'd married the perfect husband and now they had a beautiful daughter to raise. As the sun set on the New York skyline, the room was cast in a radiant orange glow. Bobby had finished straightening up the living room and headed in to check on Keira when he found Kim sitting in the rocking chair by the window. She'd dozed off in the chair after watching the sunset and was unaware when Bobby entered the room. He checked on Keira to make sure she was ok before lifting Kim from the chair and carrying her across the hall and putting her to bed.  
  
Several hours later Kim woke up, finding herself in bed. The last thing she remembered was checking on Keira and watching the sunset so she realized Bobby must have brought her in here. She got up and went to check on Keira across the hall. After not seeing her daughter she headed towards the living room where she found Bobby stretched out on the sofa with Keira resting on his chest, with her head tucked up under his chin. Kim retreated back down the hall and picked up the video camera and got some shots of the nursery and then headed back down the hall and recorded a very heart- warming father/daughter moment. After turning the camera off and placing it on the coffee table, Keira began to fuss and Kim gently picked her up so Bobby could rest a bit.  
  
Kim headed back towards the nursery and changed her diaper. After turning on the CD player and letting soft music fill the room she began to nurse her daughter, thinking back to when Joey had been a baby. The soft music had a calming effect on Keira and she began to settle down. As soon as Keira was done, Kim gently rocked her to sleep and placed her back in the crib, adjusting the volume of the music so it wouldn't be a distraction. After making sure everything was ok with Keira, she headed back to the living room and picked up an afghan off the back of one of the chairs and draped it over Bobby as he slept.  
  
Kim headed into the kitchen to see if anything needed to be straightened up, and saw everything had already been taken care of. She headed in for a relaxing shower since it was late and headed in that direction, bringing the baby monitor and cordless phone with her. As she finished towel drying her hair the phone began to ring and picked it up. When she answered the phone she found Alex on the other end.  
  
"Hey Kim, how are you doing?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm doing good. Things around here are pretty quiet at the moment." She replied, leaving to check on Keira.  
  
"How's the new doting father?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
Kim laughed lightly at the question and replied, "Asleep on the couch. You should see what I recorded an hour or so ago."  
  
"What's that?" Alex replied.  
  
"Bobby stretched out on the couch dozing with Keira sound asleep on his chest, her head tucked up under his chin."  
  
"That had to have been a precious moment for sure." Alex replied smiling, picturing what Kim had just told her in her head.  
  
"I swear for his first child, he is a natural at parenting." Kim told Alex, as she stretched out across the bed.  
  
"Yeah, Joey practically adores him and seeing the way he interacted with Keira when we were there, you could tell." Alex replied in agreement to Kim's statement.  
  
"Why don't you come over for a bit since I'm the only one up at the moment and we could talk and I could show you the tape from earlier." Kim said.  
  
"Are you sure its not too late? Plus I don't want to bother Bobby if he's still asleep on the couch." Alex replied.  
  
"Just knock lightly. I'll be near the door." Kim said as she got up.  
  
"Ok, give me a few minutes and I'll be over." Alex replied.  
  
Kim sat in the living room in a chair by the door and watched Bobby as he slept. Ten minutes later she heard a faint knock on the door and let Alex in. The two headed down the hall and peeked in on Keira before heading across the hall to talk. As they talked the primary topic of conversation was Keira. A short time later Kim returned to the living room and retrieved the video camera from the coffee table, next to where Bobby was sleeping and headed back to where Alex was. As the two sat and watched the tape play Alex said, "I swear that is the most precious thing I've ever seen."  
  
"I know, its one of those once in a lifetime occurrences that a person will always treasure." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"I hope I'm as fortunate as you have been it comes to getting married to the perfect husband." Alex said, glancing over at Kim.  
  
"My luck with relationships hasn't always been this perfect. Just look what happened when I was married to Jimmy." Kim said in return.  
  
"True, but you can't blame yourself for him being unfaithful. It was his choice and mistake to make and he paid for it." Alex replied.  
  
Alex looked down at her watch and said, "I'd better be getting home, it's getting late."  
  
"Ok. Tell everyone at the station hello for me tomorrow." Kim replied, walking with Alex to the front door.  
  
"I will." Alex said back, smiling.  
  
"Have a good evening." Kim replied, watching Alex head down the corridor.  
  
After closing and locking the door she went into the kitchen and picked up an apple from the fridge and cleaned it off. Hearing Keira whimpering softly over the baby monitor she walked in to see if she was ok and still found her asleep. Kim decided she'd better wake up Bobby that way he could take a shower and get a better night's sleep in bed, not on the couch. She disposed of what was left of the apple and knelt next to where he was sleeping and gently kissed him.  
  
When he felt her lips on his he gradually began to wake up, and looked over at Kim who still knelt next to him.  
  
"How long have I been asleep?" He asked, rubbing his stiff neck as he sat up.  
  
"Probably close to eight hours. Why don't you go take a shower and go to sleep in bed, it will probably be a bit more comfortable than the couch since you have to work tomorrow." Kim suggested.  
  
"Ok, that sounds like a good idea" he replied, standing up and stretching his stiff muscles before heading off to the bathroom.  
  
Keira had begun to cry and Kim headed down the hall to check on her. Realizing it was time for her next feeding, Kim changed CD's in the CD player and adjusted the volume of the music before picking up Keira and sitting in the rocking chair by the window. As she began to nurse, Kim held her gently across her lap as she relaxed to the sound of the music playing. She looked out at the still busy city streets, missing the excitement of working, but now her primary concern was taking care of Keira till she returned to work.  
  
Bobby returned to the nursery after finishing his shower to check on Kim and Keira. He gently began to massage Kim's shoulders and said softly, "We have been truly blessed this year."  
  
"I know," Kim replied quietly, relaxing even more as he continued massaging her shoulders.  
  
Before leaving the nursery Bobby placed a tender kiss on Kim's cheek and placed a tender kiss on Keira's head before heading across the hall. About fifteen minutes later Kim began to rock Keira to sleep. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep and Kim gently placed her back in the crib and headed across the hall to join Bobby. Kim placed the baby monitor on the nightstand and slipped into bed next to Bobby. He felt the bed move and rolled over to face Kim and said, "How is our daughter doing?"  
  
"Our daughter is doing just fine and is sleeping peacefully." Kim replied smiling, as Bobby wrapped his arms around her.  
  
The two drifted off to sleep in each others arms until the early hours of the morning when Kim was awakened by the sound of Keira crying after having been woken up by a loud clap of thunder from a brewing storm. She picked her up and moved the chair away from the window incase there was any lightening and began to rock her crying daughter.  
  
"Everything ok?" a half-asleep Bobby asked from the doorway.  
  
"Yeah, I doubt she's going to bed anytime soon because of this storm so go back to bed since you have to work today." Kim replied, trying to soothe her crying daughter.  
  
"You know, you need sleep too." Bobby reminded her.  
  
"I know, but I'm the one on maternity leave. I'll go back to sleep when she does." Kim said in return, looking over at him in the doorway.  
  
"Let's make a deal. If she's still up by 9:30 or 10 I'll stay up with her so you can get some rest before I go to work." Bobby suggested.  
  
"What time is it now?" Kim asked.  
  
"4:30," he replied.  
  
"I can handle staying up till then." Kim said in return, gently rubbing her daughters' back.  
  
"You sure?" he asked.  
  
"Positive." She replied, looking over at him in the doorway.  
  
"Then I'll see you in four or five hours unless she goes to sleep before then." Bobby said, gently kissing Kim and his daughter before returning to bed.  
  
Kim watched him walk across the hall and gently began to talk to Keira, hoping to calm her down. The storm outside had settled down a bit but it was still upsetting Keira so Kim took her into the living room, away from where she could see the flashes of lightening. She'd stopped crying at least but still hadn't fallen asleep. Kim looked down at Keira who was looking up at her, trying hard to focus on the image above her with her large brown eyes. Hours slowly ticked by at the storm had subsided so Kim headed back into the nursery and moved the chair back towards the window and sat down, gently rocking Keira to sleep.  
  
Keira rested her tiny head along Kim's shoulder, just as the sun began to come up over the horizon. Bobby got up around 9:30 and headed across the hall to relieve Kim. What he saw when he entered the nursery warmed his heart and almost moved him to tears. Seeing Keira asleep with her head resting along the contour of Kim's neck was a picture perfect moment he would never forget. He gently leaned down and kissed the top of Kim's head and gently rubbed his sleeping daughters' back and stood next to the chair.  
  
"How's she doing?" he asked softly.  
  
"She just went back to sleep. She's already been fed and changed so she should be good to go." Kim replied as Bobby picked her up and carefully put her down in the crib.  
  
Kim stood up and began to stretch a bit before she headed across the hall to rest before Bobby had to go to work. She felt Bobby begin to rub her stiff neck and shoulders as he walked with her across the hall.  
  
"If you need anything feel free to wake me up," Kim said, curling up under the blankets.  
  
"Ok," he replied, gently brushing several strands of her hair out of her face and tenderly kissed her on the cheek as she fell asleep.  
  
He picked up the baby monitor and headed into the kitchen and fixed a cup of coffee and something to eat, paying close attention to any noises that came over the monitor. Several hours later his mother called to see how everything was going and to check up on how the baby was doing. Two hours before he left for work Alex called to check on them and see if they needed anything before she went in to work. Bobby heard Keira begin to whimper softly over the monitor and went in to check on her before he woke up Kim.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, time to get up." Bobby called, as he sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.  
  
Kim heard his voice calling to her and rolled over and looked up at him and said, "Time for you to go?"  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." He replied, helping her sit up; "If you need anything while I'm at work don't hesitate to call me."  
  
"Don't worry, I will." She replied smiling as she stood up.  
  
Bobby headed off to get the rest of his stuff together for work and Kim went across the hall to check on Keira. Finding her awake, Kim scooped her up and gently kissed her on the cheek and headed out to where Bobby was. He saw Kim carrying Keira and began to smile; hating that he had to leave them to go to work. He gently kissed Keira's tiny forehead and placed a loving kiss on Kim's lips before heading off to work.  
  
After Bobby had left, Kim and Keira headed down to her mother's apartment to check on Joey. Joey returned with Kim to their apartment and spent the day getting acquainted with his new sister and helping his mom out around the apartment. The highlight of Joey's afternoon was when he got to help give his sister a bath. Anything dealing with his sister was exciting but actually being able to help out was even better. After she'd had a bath she'd almost fell asleep so Kim took Joey into the living room and let him hold Keira on the couch since she wasn't squirming around.  
  
As Joey held his little sister, he looked over at his mother sitting beside him and said, "Does she cry a lot?"  
  
"Not too bad, just when she wants fed or changed." She replied, watching her son interact with his little sister.  
  
"What did you think of the storm that we had this morning?" Kim asked her son.  
  
"What storm?" Joey asked, unaware that it had stormed earlier.  
  
"Ah, still a sound sleeper," she said smiling.  
  
"How'd you know it stormed?" Joey asked.  
  
"Because it woke your sister up at 4:30 this morning and she didn't settle down till 9:30." Kim replied, gently rubbing Keira's stomach.  
  
"Want to carry her into the nursery since she's asleep?" Kim asked Joey.  
  
"Really?" Joey asked excitedly.  
  
"Sure, just make sure to support her head and not drop her." Kim said standing up.  
  
Joey stood up and slowly made his way towards the nursery, carrying his little sister under the watchful eye of his mother. Joey gently kissed his little sister on the cheek before Kim took her from him and placed her in the crib and picked up the baby monitor.  
  
"Have you eaten lunch yet?" Kim asked her son.  
  
"Not yet, nana was getting ready to fix something when you and Keira came down." Joey replied, following his mother into the kitchen.  
  
"What do you want me to fix you?" she asked.  
  
"Do you have any ravioli?" Joey asked.  
  
"Sure do." Kim replied, removing the can from the cupboard and opening it.  
  
She put the contents of the can into a saucepan and put it on high heat and waited for it to cook thoroughly for a few minutes before dishing the ravioli into a bowl for her son. She fixed herself a turkey sandwich on pita bread and sat down at the table with her son and ate a late lunch when the phone began to ring. As Kim answered the phone she found Bobby on the other end of the line.  
  
"How's everything going?" he asked her.  
  
"Pretty good, Joey and I are eating a late lunch since he's been helping out with Keira." Kim said, glancing over at Joey who was enjoying his ravioli.  
  
"How's she doing?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Right now she's asleep. Joey helped give her a bath and since she wasn't squirming all over the place carried her over to the nursery, when I put her down for a nap." Kim replied, putting her plate in the sink.  
  
Bobby smiled to himself and said, "Alex and I will stop by on our dinner break to check up on you two and see if there is anything you need."  
  
"Sounds good, I'll see you when you stop by." Kim replied, hearing Keira start to whimper over the baby monitor.  
  
"Ok. Tell Joey I said hello and I'll see you soon." Bobby said, as Alex came back out with sodas.  
  
"I will." She replied smiling to herself, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge as she finished up talking to Bobby.  
  
After she put the phone down she went in to check on Keira and found Joey checking on her. She was still asleep so they left her alone and headed back to the living room and played some video games until it was time for Keira's next feeding. 


	36. Bad Time?

Six weeks had passed since Keira had been born. In another two weeks, Kim would be returning to work. She was looking forward to returning to work and be with her friends but she also dreaded having to leave Keira. One afternoon Kim was straightening things up in the living room and began going through a bunch of unlabeled videotapes and began to put labels on them. Joey had gone to his friend Michael's house for the afternoon since Michael had invited him to stay over. Bobby had dropped him off on his way to work, which left Kim and Keira the only ones in the apartment. Keira was being finicky so while she went through the tapes she laid her across her lap and gently rubbed her back which seemed to calm her down. After she'd fallen asleep, Kim got up and took her and put her down for a nap in the nursery and brought one of the baby monitors with her.  
  
Having returned to going through the videotapes she put labels on them after watching the contents of the tapes and organized them. She still had about two stacks of tapes left and stopped and took a brief lunch break. As she put the next tape in, images of the firehouse appeared on the screen.  
  
"When was this shot?" she asked herself aloud.  
  
She saw images of Doc, Carlos, her, Jimmy, Bobby, Jerry, D.K and Lombardo all sitting around talking and laughing. Next thing she sees is a shot of the bunks, all in a circle with one in the middle. Something goes off inside her head and she instantly remembers what she's watching.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I had totally forgotten about this tape." She exclaimed laughing, seeing the shocked face of one of the rookies when he finds all the guys upstairs stark naked all talking and laughing. The poor look on the rookie's face was priceless, but better yet perfect blackmail material if anyone ever got on her nerves.  
  
"Man, if only the guys knew I had this tape, they'd croak for sure." She laughed out loud; "I can just see them on their knee's begging me to get rid of this tape, because they had no clue I was hiding in the room taping the whole thing."  
  
She'd finished going through all the tapes and gotten everything organized, putting this tape back in the VCR so she could torment Bobby with it.  
  
After finishing the tapes she headed in to start fixing dinner after going in and getting Keira up for her next feeding.  
  
Later on that evening when Bobby got home she still couldn't believe she'd found that tape and had a smirk on her face when he walked in the door. When he walked through the door, he saw her sitting on the couch laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked her curiously.  
  
"You will never guess what I found when I was organizing the videotapes in the shelf earlier today." She replied, trying not to laugh as she talked.  
  
"What did you find in that mess of tapes?" he asked, sitting down next to her.  
  
She pushed the play button on the remote and watched his reaction.  
  
"When did someone record stuff at the station?" he asked, seeing all of his colleagues sitting around laughing at the table.  
  
"Oh trust me, it gets even better." She replied snickering, seeing the scenery change to the bunks.  
  
Bobby took one look at the bunks and a circle and knew exactly what was going to happen on the tape and turned various shades of red. He looked over at Kim, who had a thoroughly amused look on her face at his reaction and said, "And just where missy did you get this tape?"  
  
"Can you not put two and two together?" she asked; "Who is the only one missing from that group that could have shot this."  
  
"You recorded the whole thing and didn't tell any of us!" he said in disbelief.  
  
"What was I supposed to do walk out from my little hiding spot with the camera in front of you all and say 'Smile your on candid camera'?" she asked innocently.  
  
"We had no idea anyone was taping or we probably wouldn't have gone through with it." Bobby said, thoroughly embarrassed.  
  
"Just wait till everyone else finds out about that. How much do you wanna bet everyone will be on their knees begging me to get rid of it?" Kim replied.  
  
"Of course they will be. They'll probably flip when they find out it was you that recorded that little prank in the first place." Bobby said back, a sneaky smile crossing his face.  
  
"What? A woman can't have any fun now?" she asked curiously in self-defense as she got up off the couch to go get a bottle of water from the fridge.  
  
"Depends on your definition of fun," Bobby said snickering, following her into the kitchen.  
  
"You hungry? I fixed spaghetti for dinner." Kim asked.  
  
"I'm starved. Things were so busy we only got a brief break." He replied, watching her fix a plate of spaghetti and bring it over to him.  
  
Keira had begun to cry, and Kim left the room and went to check on her. Finding her awake, she picked her up and carried her in to see her father.  
  
"Guess whose awake." Kim said smiling.  
  
"Wouldn't be our little girl would it?" he asked smiling, turning to look at Kim.  
  
She sat down at the table beside him, holding Keira in her lap.  
  
"Come here munchkin," Bobby said, picking her up from Kim's lap.  
  
"Guess what Joey's got her doing." Kim said smiling.  
  
"What's that?" Bobby asked, putting his index finger against the palm of Keira's hand, feeling her tiny fingers grip his finger.  
  
"He was playing with her one afternoon and was sticking his tongue out at her and eventually she started mimicking him." Kim replied, laughing lightly at Bobby's reaction.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." Bobby said, grinning at what Kim had just told him.  
  
"I'm serious I saw her do it myself. Try it." Kim said back.  
  
As soon as Keira's eyes were trained on Bobby again he tried what Kim had said and sure enough she mimicked his actions, causing him to laugh.  
  
Since she was starting to fidget, he passed her back to Kim while he rinsed his plate off and headed to change clothes. While he was changing, it was getting close to Keira's next feeding so Kim went ahead and made sure she didn't need a diaper change. After going ahead and changing her diaper, she headed back to where Bobby was. He'd propped himself up in bed with several pillows against the headboard. Kim sat down next to him, still holding Keira when he pulled her over into his lap and wrapped his arms around both her and Keira.  
  
The three lay together, enjoying a little family quiet time till Keira began to fuss.  
  
Several days later, Kim had just finished feeding Keira and was getting ready to put her down for a nap when she heard a knock at the door. She cradled a now sleeping Keira in one arm and opened the door, finding Alex on the other side. Kim could tell something was wrong with her and said, "Alex! You look awful, what's wrong?"  
  
"Ty and I had a big fight this morning." She replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
"Come on in and tell me what happened." Kim said, closing the door after she'd entered.  
  
Alex took a seat on the couch and Kim went and put Keira down for her nap and returned to the living room and said, "Tell me what happened."  
  
"He's been acting kind of distant lately so last night when I saw him after work I asked him what was wrong. He kept insisting everything was fine, when deep down I knew they weren't. He gets mad because I'm being so persistent and instead of going to the movies like we'd planned, he ditches me and goes and gets wasted with Bosco." Alex began to say.  
  
Kim could see the hurt and disappointment in Alex's eyes as she continued.  
  
"Then I hear someone banging on my front door at 5:00 am this morning. Sure enough, there he is. Drunk off his ass. How on earth he remembered where I lived in the state he was in I don't know. Needless to say I was pissed that he'd woke me up at that hour, the fact that he was completely inebriated didn't help either. A short time later we started fighting. I can't take it when he pulls this crap." Alex said, sighing heavily in frustration.  
  
"Are you going to try talk to him tonight?" Kim asked.  
  
"No, I'm pulling a double tonight so I can get my thoughts straight." Alex replied, feeling better that she'd talked to someone about this.  
  
"Are you considering breaking up with him?" Kim asked gently, not wanting to upset Alex.  
  
"I'm extremely close to doing just that. He's been so distant the past several weeks, and then he goes and pulls this. I'm tired of it." Alex said back.  
  
"I know what you mean." Kim replied, thinking back to all the stuff Jimmy had put her through.  
  
Alex sighed softly, wishing she could decide on what to do.  
  
"Just go with your instincts. If they tell you to leave then there is a reason for it." Kim said; "You want any coffee?"  
  
"Sure," Alex replied softly, looking down at her watch, seeing that it was almost eleven am.  
  
Kim got up and put on a pot of coffee and grabbed a bottle of water for herself. As soon as the coffee was done she fixed a cup for Alex and returned to the living room, passing her the cup as she sat back down.  
  
"Bobby off today?" Alex asked, taking a sip of the coffee.  
  
Kim shook her head no as she took a drink of water and replied, "Keira was being fussy around 3 am, so he got up and tried to calm her down but she wasn't cooperating. He was still up at 6 so I got up and told him to go back to bed since he had to work and that I'd get him up around 1."  
  
"I bet Joey's thrilled to death to have a younger sister, isn't he." Alex said back to her friend.  
  
"He is. He loves helping take care of her. I imagine when she gets older, he'll start being the overprotective older brother." Kim replied, laughing lightly after taking another drink of water.  
  
After about ten minutes of just sitting around sipping on drinks and talking Alex said, I'd better head out. I really appreciate you listening to me."  
  
"No problem. I can relate to what you're going through because I once was in the same position. If you need to talk anymore feel free to call." Kim replied smiling, walking with Alex to the door.  
  
"Ok. I'll see you later." Alex replied, before heading out into the hall.  
  
"Bye," Kim said back to her as she left, closing the door.  
  
The aroma from the coffee had drifted down to the bedroom and woke up Bobby. He walked across the hall to check on Keira, finding her sound asleep. Kim had begun to straighten up the kitchen and went ahead and washed the few dishes that were sitting in the sink. As she wiped off the counter top, Bobby snuck up behind her and started tickling her around the waist. She let out a short scream of surprise and turned around and found him snickering at her.  
  
"So that's the welcome I get for letting you get some extra sleep?" she asked sarcastically, looking at him with a grin on her face.  
  
"Any better?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him.  
  
"Much better," she replied smiling.  
  
"By the way, I do appreciate the extra sleep, especially after last night." He said, tilting his head towards hers so he could kiss her.  
  
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her gently. His hands began to massage her hips as she kissed him back deeply, when the intimate moment was broken when they heard a knock at the door.  
  
"His timing is awful you know that." Bobby whispered into her ear.  
  
"Sorry, he was a difficult one to train." Kim replied sarcastically as she headed for the door.  
  
Bobby followed closely behind her and said, "You did not just say what I thought you said."  
  
"Oh but I did." She replied, grinning evilly as she headed towards the door.  
  
"You little she devil you," he replied laughing, tickling her as she headed towards the door.  
  
Kim squealed when Bobby began to tickle her and said in between laughs, "Bobby! Stop!"  
  
Jimmy and Joey were standing at the front door when they heard Kim squeal. Jimmy silently groaned, making a mental note to call next time before he brought Joey over that way things wouldn't be awkward for him, although Joey seemed oblivious to hearing Kim squeal.  
  
Bobby finally stopped and sat down on the couch and Kim headed towards the door and let her son and Jimmy in.  
  
"You want to stay for coffee?" she asked Jimmy.  
  
"That's alright, I've gotta do a few things before I head to work." Jimmy replied, hoping she didn't press the coffee issue.  
  
Kim could tell that he was skirting the invitation for coffee, and judging by his nervous actions she could tell why. Of course she wanted to bust out laughing right there but knew that would be wrong. That would have to wait till Jimmy was gone.  
  
Joey headed off to his room and Jimmy left, feeling rather embarrassed that he'd dropped Joey off at a bad time, or so he thought. After Jimmy had left, Kim sat down on the couch and cracked up laughing. Bobby looked over at her laughing and said, "What are you laughing over?"  
  
"Could you not tell that Jimmy seemed rather uneasy when he brought Joey over?" Kim asked in between laughs.  
  
"Why do you think he was uneasy?" Bobby questioned, wanting to see where Kim was taking this conversation.  
  
"You didn't think he was acting sort of off?" Kim replied curiously.  
  
"I didn't answer the door now did I." Bobby responded, pulling her over next to him; "What do you think had him so uneasy?"  
  
"I think he heard me squealing when you started tickling me and thought something else was going on." Kim replied; "I wouldn't be surprised if he starts calling before he brings Joey over."  
  
"Maybe he should," Bobby said suggestively. 


	37. Nightmares

Kim playfully elbowed him in the stomach as Joey came back into the living room and whispered, "No more comments like that till he leaves the room."  
  
Bobby put his hands up in self-defense as Kim sat up, making room for Joey on the couch.  
  
"How's was your stay with your dad?" Kim asked.  
  
That's all the encouragement Joey needed to recount the weekend's events, not missing a single detail. It was about an hour and a half later when Joey finally finished telling them about his weekend. After Kim was sure he wasn't going to continue she said, "It looks like you two had a pretty busy weekend."  
  
"Oh yeah, and we've already planned out what we are doing this weekend." Joey replied excitedly.  
  
Bobby rolled his eyes at Kim who was already smiling when she said, "Did your dad get you lunch before you came over?"  
  
"Yeah, we stopped and had some cheeseburgers on our way over." Joey replied grinning from ear to ear as he hopped off the sofa and went back into his room to play some games on his gameboy.  
  
As soon as he was in his room, Bobby said jokingly, "You had to get him started didn't you."  
  
"What? It was a simple question." Kim replied innocently, heading to the kitchen to fix lunch for her and Bobby.  
  
Alex went in early to work and got a head start on getting the bus ready for the day. She sat in the back of the rig thinking about what she and Kim had discussed that morning when she heard Ty's voice.  
  
"Where the hell have you been!" he asked angrily.  
  
"Doing some soul-searching." She replied back, not wanting to make a scene.  
  
"I've been trying to get a hold of you all morning!" he snapped at her.  
  
"That's it! Ty, you and I are through! I'm tired of putting up with your crap the past several weeks!" Alex fumed as she narrowed her eyes at him, getting out of the rig to head inside.  
  
Ty grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her back to where he was standing.  
  
"Let the hell go of me!" Alex half yelled getting Jimmy's attention inside.  
  
Jimmy walked outside to see what was going on and saw what was happening.  
  
"Davis, you heard the woman! Let her go!" Jimmy said, starting to get defensive.  
  
"Who asked you Jimmy?!" Ty snorted alcohol still evident in his system from his night of getting trashed with Bosco.  
  
"You mess with my partner and it becomes my responsibility to look out for her!" Jimmy snapped back.  
  
Not wanting to start a fight he knew he would lose, Ty let go of her and said, "This isn't over Alex."  
  
"Oh yes it is. We're through so don't even bother calling!" she snapped, jerking her arm free from his hand and heading inside.  
  
Jimmy watched her head inside and made sure Ty had left before following her. He headed upstairs and found her sitting cross-legged on her bunk.  
  
"You ok?" he asked.  
  
"I will be as soon as he leaves me alone." She replied quietly.  
  
"So you two really through?" he asked, not really sure why he'd just asked her that.  
  
"Yeah. I'm tired of the crap that he's been pulling recently and I'm finally listening to the advice of a good friend." Alex replied.  
  
"That friend must have been right. I don't know what was going on between the two of you, but you might be better off without him after that display." Jimmy said squeezing her shoulder gently; not knowing Kim was the one who had given her advice.  
  
"Thanks for stepping in, I really appreciate it," Alex said quietly, the emotions from earlier going away gradually.  
  
"Anytime," Jimmy said smiling, getting up to go back downstairs.  
  
Alex lay alone, silently thanking Kim for her advice before heading to finish the bus.  
  
When Bobby came in he found Alex half way through straightening up the bus and said, "You're in early."  
  
"Just needed to think some stuff through." She replied, looking up from the task she was doing.  
  
Bobby went up to change and helped Alex with the rig. When they were done, there was still time before their shift was to start so everyone sat around talking.  
  
Doc came in with a newbie following behind him.  
  
"Who's the newbie?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"This is Craig. Carlos and I are training him for a couple of weeks." Doc replied.  
  
He began to introduce Craig to everyone sitting at the table and each person giving the newbie a greeting of welcome. When Doc, Carlos and Craig left to get ready for the start of the shift, Alex said, "We finally have a new face around here."  
  
The first half of the shift was non-stop, calls coming in one right after the other. Around eight things quieted down and everyone spent the remainder of the shift getting to know the trainee.  
  
When Bobby came home that evening, he found Kim curled up on the sofa cradling Keira in her arms dozing, with Joey asleep across her legs. It looked like they'd been watching a movie and must have fallen asleep during it. He carefully picked up his sleeping daughter from Kim's arms and put her to bed, returning and getting Joey and tucking him into bed. He went back once more and turned off the T.V and VCR and picked up Kim from the couch and put her in their room. After getting her taken care of, he headed off for a shower before going to bed for the evening.  
  
While he was in the shower, Kim woke up, seeing the apartment dark except for the light coming from under the bathroom door. She got up and checked on Joey and Keira before curling back up in bed. A short time later he'd finished his shower and slipped into bed next to Kim, wrapping his arms around her waist as he fell asleep.  
  
By the end of the week everyone began to get used to having Craig around, although the guy had an annoying streak to him. Ty hadn't bothered Alex after their encounter in front of the station and everyone began to give Alex grief about being the only woman around the station.  
  
On Friday, Kim, Joey and Keira went into the station early with Bobby so everyone could see the baby and to check and see how things were going without her. As they walked upstairs Kim said, "Anybody home?"  
  
Alex heard Kim's voice and turned around exclaiming, "Kim! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Checking up on you all while I'm off." She replied smiling as Alex gave her a hug.  
  
"Did you bring the baby?" Alex asked.  
  
"Of course," Kim replied, as Bobby passed Keira to her.  
  
"Do you want to hold her?" Kim asked.  
  
"Sure," Alex replied, carefully picking Keira up from Kim's arms.  
  
While Kim and Alex talked Bobby walked into the weight room where almost everyone was and said; "There's someone here to see all of us."  
  
"Who is it?" Jimmy asked while bench pressing.  
  
"Not telling you all have to come out and see for yourselves." Bobby replied, heading up to change.  
  
Walsh and Lombardo were watching television when Alex walked in carrying Keira. Walsh looked over at her and said, "Damn Taylor, you didn't tell us you had a kid."  
  
"There's a lot you boys don't know about me," Alex replied smiling as Keira began to wake up from the nap she'd been taking.  
  
Kim stood just outside the room and started snickering; overhearing the conversation that was going on in the room. When she entered the room she said smiling, "You boys like picking on women, don't you."  
  
Both Walsh and Lombardo gave her a hug and said, "I swear you'd never know you'd had two kids looking like that."  
  
"Is that the best suck-up line you all can come up with?" Kim asked laughing.  
  
Joey came in a short time later and Walsh and Lombardo began to aggravate him, causing Keira to start to fuss. Alex couldn't get her to settle down so Kim scooped her up and headed towards the kitchen where it was quiet to get her to calm down. She peeked into the weight room and said, "You all not going to say hello?"  
  
"Kim!" Jimmy said in surprise, putting the weights he was lifting down; "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Making sure you all are behaving," she replied smiling.  
  
"I see you brought the baby with you," he replied, watching Keira yawn in Kim's arms.  
  
"I thought I'd bring her out for a bit and check on you heathens." Kim replied.  
  
"May I hold her?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Sure, just not around the weights." Kim replied.  
  
Jimmy headed towards the T.V room and carefully picked her up and sat down in one of the recliners. Lt. Johnson walked in and saw Kim talking to everyone and said, "Boy have we missed having you around here."  
  
"In another week you all won't be able to get rid of me," she replied laughing.  
  
"How's the baby?" he asked.  
  
"Just fine. Although I think all the attention everyone's been giving her is tiring her out." Kim replied seeing her asleep in Jimmy's arms.  
  
A short time later, everyone bid her farewell as Bobby took the three of them home and returned for his shift.  
  
That night Bobby got home late after an apartment complex had caught fire. Apparently the building had been condemned and was vacant when the fire was started by a couple of teenagers. Jimmy and D.K had rescued the teens but they had suffered some severe burns as a result of starting the blaze. After transporting the teens to the hospital Bobby, Alex, Doc, Carlos and Craig were called back to the fire when several firefighters were injured. When they arrived back on the scene they saw at least four firefighters that had been injured. Most of the injuries weren't severe, although a couple had a few broken bones.  
  
When he got in that evening he found Kim was stretched out across the bed, listening to the radio and reading a book. The phone began to ring and she reached out and picked up the cordless and found Jimmy on the other end, wanting to know if Joey was asleep since he was just leaving the scene of the fire. She told him he was still up and if he wanted to come and get him that was fine, or that they could bring him over. After discussing the arrangements of who was bringing Joey over, she hung up the phone just as Bobby walked into the room.  
  
"Who was that?" Bobby asked, falling onto the bed next to Kim.  
  
"Jimmy. Wanting to know if Joey was asleep." She replied.  
  
"We taking him over to Jimmy's?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yeah, Jimmy and the boys are just heading back to the station from that fire." She replied, rolling over onto her side to look at him.  
  
"You want me to take him over?" Bobby asked, noticing she was already dressed for bed.  
  
"I was going to say I could get dressed and take him but if you want to that's fine," Kim responded, just as Keira began to cry.  
  
"Looks like you're being beckoned," Bobby said laughing, getting up to have Joey get his stuff together.  
  
Kim laughed and got up to check on Keira. When Bobby peeked into Joey's room he found him playing his gameboy on the bed, his bag already packed for his weekend with Jimmy.  
  
"You ready to go?" Bobby asked.  
  
"All ready," Joey replied, getting up and putting the gameboy in the bag by his bed.  
  
"I'm ready to take you over whenever you are." Bobby said before leaving to check on Kim and Keira.  
  
Keira had stopped crying but was still putting up a fuss. Kim gave her son a hug and a kiss on the cheek before Bobby took him over to Jimmy's. Looking over at the clock, she saw that it was time for her next feeding. While Keira nursed, Kim quietly sang to her until the phone rang again. When she answered, she found Bobby on the other end telling her that he was stuck in traffic since there had been a car accident and was going to help out till an ambulance got there. After talking briefly they hung up the phones and Kim went back to singing softly to Keira until she'd finished and fell asleep.  
  
After putting her back in her crib she went back into the bedroom and went through several CD's and found one that she'd never listened to before and quite frankly didn't know who had bought it. As the sounds filled the room she recognized the music had a salsa type beat to it. She hadn't danced the salsa since the she'd broken up with a guy she'd been seeing about a year after she'd divorced Jimmy. As she listened to the music the moves the guy had taught her began to come back to her. After an hour or so of practicing on her own she remembered most of what she'd learned so long ago.  
  
When Bobby came back he heard the music playing and was curious to see what she was up to. He stood in the doorway for a bit and just watched her since she hadn't noticed him standing there. When the song ended and she stopped and turned towards the door and saw him standing there watching her.  
  
"I didn't know you could salsa." Bobby said, while changing CD's.  
  
"I haven't done that in a long time." She replied softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
He found a song on the CD he'd put in and paused it, turning and taking Kim by the hands and pulling her to her feet.  
  
He unpaused the music, and they stood facing each other, holding each other's hands at waist level. As the music began he stepped back on his left foot and Kim did the opposite, stepping forward with her right foot. He rocked back onto his right foot causing her to do the opposite, rocking back on her left foot and bringing his left foot back to its original position. They then repeated the steps again using the opposite leg. Changing hand positions, he held her left hand in his left and her right hand in his right while she continued doing the same foot motions they both had been doing. Bobby did the same as her only instead of moving forwards and backwards he was moving to the left and right slightly, gently easing her into an outside turn to the right. He brought her right arm over his left shoulder and held her left hand up against her left shoulder, ending up side by side. Taking his right arm and lifting it up and over her head, resting his arm against her back, causing her to walk forwards, behind him. When she stopped, he took his left hand and placed it on the left side of her hip, pushing her arm that he still held to the left, leading her into a right hand turn. They repeated the same movements through the rest of the song, adding some little variations to it each time.  
  
When the music was over, they stood facing each other for a few moments, somewhat speechless by what had just happened. She'd never felt that sense of connection with anyone she'd ever salsa'd with before like she felt tonight dancing with Bobby.  
  
"We should do this more often," Bobby said smiling, nuzzling the side of her neck.  
  
"Definitely," she replied somewhat breathlessly, leaning back against him.  
  
Moments later, the two lay side by side in bed talking for a bit before falling asleep.  
  
"You know what I think?" Bobby asked.  
  
"What's that?" Kim replied curiously, wondering what was going through his head.  
  
"Remember that little comment Jimmy made about everyone going out dancing after work one night? How bout we work up a little routine that will blow all their minds." He suggested.  
  
"Sounds exciting to me," Kim replied, thinking about the reactions they would get; "When you want to start working on it?"  
  
"Tomorrow night sound good?" he asked.  
  
"Sounds good to me," she replied, snuggling up against him as she drifted off to sleep.  
  
Around 4:30 AM Keira, had started to cry and Kim got up to check on her. Picking her up, she headed over to the bookcase and put on a CD to try and help calm her down. While fingering through the CD's with her left hand and cradling Keira in her right arm, she selected a CD when all of a sudden the ground beneath her shook violently. Bracing herself against the wall, she shielded her daughter just as the window to the room was blown out. The roar from the explosion across the street was deafening, which made Keira begin to cry that much harder.  
  
Bobby was sound asleep till he felt everything around him shaking. Looking over to see Kim gone, fear gripped him not knowing what was going on outside. 


	38. Haunted

She held Keira next to her body, feeling the glass hitting her in the back, shoulders and arms. As long as nothing happened to her daughter that's all that mattered. As soon as she could hear herself think she screamed for Bobby, not wanting to move from where she was incase another explosion hit. She had no clue what was going on outside, but knew something had happened. Her ears were still ringing from the blast and she felt the building eventually stop rumbling from the force of the shock wave the explosion had caused. She sank to the ground in front of the bookcase trembling, trying to calm her thoroughly frightened daughter as well as trying to collect her own thoughts.  
  
Bobby had been jerked awake when everything began to shake violently. Seeing Kim gone added to the fear, but when he heard her piercing scream from across the hall, his heart just about stopped.  
  
"Were Kim and Keira ok? What the hell had happened outside?" he asked himself, rushing across the hall.  
  
He burst into the room, seeing Kim on the floor, still holding Keira close to her incase there was another explosion. Seeing the window had been blown out and the building across the street partially demolished from some sort of blast. Glass from the window had been blown about 4.5 yards across the room.  
  
"Kim! Are you ok?" he called out rushing over to her, noticing the cuts she'd received from the shards of glass.  
  
"I'll be fine." She replied, her voice shaking as she spoke rising to her feet unsteadily.  
  
He gently helped her up, wrapping an arm around her waist and helped her out of the room and headed towards the living room.  
  
As they sat together, trying to calm Keira who had been scared half out of her mind the phone began to ring. Bobby headed into their bedroom and picked up the cordless while Kim worked on calming down Keira. When he answered he found Kim's mother on the other end.  
  
"Are you all ok?" she asked, pacing the floor of her bedroom after having looked at what had happened outside.  
  
"I'm just now calming down, Kim's shaken up quite a bit since she was checking on Keira when the explosion hit, knocking out the window." Bobby replied, heading back down the hall.  
  
"Did either of them get hurt from the glass?" her mother asked anxiously.  
  
"Keira's fine just scared, Kim got some cuts from the glass though that I'm getting ready to start working on." He replied, getting the supplies together to start cleaning the cuts she had received from the glass.  
  
"Do you want me to come up and watch Keira?" she asked, grabbing some clothes from the closet to put on.  
  
"If you want to that's fine," he replied, heading towards the living room.  
  
"I'll be up shortly as soon as I change." She said back, laying the clothes on the bed.  
  
"Ok, I'll tell her your coming." Bobby replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
After getting everything laid out on the coffee table he said, "That was your mom, she's gonna come up and watch Keira while I work on these cuts you got."  
  
"Ok," she replied, still shaking like a leaf as she sat on the couch.  
  
When Kim's mother arrived, Bobby let her in and they headed to where Kim sat on the couch.  
  
"You ok?" her mother asked, sitting next to her on the couch working on settling down Keira.  
  
"Shaken up but fine," she replied, wincing as Bobby began to work on cleaning the cuts on her back.  
  
Jimmy's phone began to ring in the early hours of the morning after the explosion had hit. He reached out sleepily, picking up the phone and answering in a half asleep voice, "Hello."  
  
"Jimmy, this is Lt. Johnson. I hate to bother you this time of morning but we need everyone we can to come help with a building that was partially demolished when it exploded downtown." Came Lieu's voice over the phone.  
  
"I'll have to see if my mother can come watch Joey, so give me a bit and I'll be down." He replied, stumbling out of bed.  
  
"Just get here as soon as you can," Lieu responded giving Jimmy the address of the building that had exploded.  
  
After hanging up with Lt. Johnson he called his mother to see if she could come watch Joey so he wouldn't have to wake him up. She agreed to come over and watch him and arrived about fifteen minutes later. He left promptly and picked up his gear from the station and drove to the address Lieu had given him.  
  
Carlos was pulling the double with Alex and when they arrived at the scene, they were shocked to see the remnants of the building that had exploded. As Alex turned her head to tell Carlos something she saw Bobby's car parked across the street.  
  
"Shit!" she cursed, looking at the building again and back to Bobby's car.  
  
"What?" asked Carlos, trying to figure out why she'd said that.  
  
"Kim and Bobby live right across the street from what's left of this building!" she exclaimed, digging for her cell phone.  
  
"Are you sure?" Carlos questioned, anxiety building up from finding that bit of information out.  
  
"Yes I'm sure Carlos!" she replied, dialing the number to their apartment.  
  
Bobby heard the phone ringing and answered it, finding Alex on the other end.  
  
"Hey are you all ok up there?" she asked, fidgeting nervously in her seat as she talked to him.  
  
"We're shaken up but fine." He replied, still working on the cuts Kim had gotten from the glass.  
  
"Is the baby ok?" she asked, realizing the nursery was facing the building that had exploded.  
  
"She's scared but fine. Kim was checking on her when the explosion hit." He replied.  
  
"Do you all need anything?" she asked, getting out of the bus, hearing Kim say something about stopping in the background.  
  
"Not at the moment," he said back.  
  
"What's she talking about?" Alex asked, not sure what Kim had meant by that.  
  
"Oh, she got cut up a bit from the glass in the window when it got blown out in the explosion and I was working on cleaning them up but I think she's reached her wits end with the stinging from the antiseptic." He replied, heading back towards the nursery and looking out the window seeing all the emergency vehicles filling the street; "You all need any help down there?"  
  
"Not at the moment, if we do I'll give you a call though." She replied, getting stuff out of the back of the ambulance.  
  
"Ok, I'll talk to you later then," he said, leaving the room and heading back down the hall.  
  
"Ok. Bye," Alex replied, putting her cell phone back in her pocket and heading towards Carlos.  
  
Carlos saw her coming and said, "Are they ok up there?"  
  
"Yeah, they're fine. Except Kim got hit with some shards of glass when the window to the nursery got blown out during the explosion." She replied.  
  
"The baby ok?" he asked.  
  
"Scared but not hurt." Alex said back, heading towards the building seeing where they were needed.  
  
When Jimmy arrived at the address he had to park down the street and walk there were so many emergency vehicles that had responded. As he walked he saw the remnants of the building and asked aloud, "What the hell happened here?"  
  
He caught sight of Alex and Carlos and said, "Hey Alex! What on earth happened?"  
  
While talking to Alex he saw Bobby's car parked across the street and said, "Please don't tell me that's his car."  
  
"It is. I've already talked to them and they're all fine." Alex replied.  
  
Jimmy sighed with relief and headed towards the rest of the group from the 55.  
  
Keira finally settled down and went back to sleep after the hair-raising ordeal she'd been through. Kim's mother headed back home relieved that everyone was ok. Bobby finished up working on the cuts Kim had gotten and said, "Why don't we try and go back to sleep."  
  
"I don't know if I can go to sleep after having gone through that," she replied, as he pulled her up off the couch.  
  
"Everything will be fine, you'll see." He said softly.  
  
They moved the crib into Joey's room since he was staying with Jimmy for the weekend, since for obvious reasons they didn't feel comfortable leaving her in the nursery after what had happened. As she tried to go back to sleep, she lay on her right side, since the left side of her arm and back took the brunt force of the glass from the explosion. She couldn't sleep; she kept replaying what had happened earlier in her head. The fear that had been coursing through her returning whenever she thought about it.  
  
The group from the 55 worked on as the sun came up in the sky. The true extent of the damage to the building was becoming evident during the daylight hours. It looked like a war zone, debris all over the streets, rescue workers working tirelessly going through the building since they didn't know if anyone had been in it when it exploded. Jimmy and several of the guys were combing through the building when they found what caused the explosion. Lying amongst the wreckage were the remnants of a ring of explosives that had been wired in the room. They radioed back letting Lieu know what they'd found and apparently several other guys found the same set up in several other rooms.  
  
It was around noon when they finished searching the building, not finding traces of anyone being in it when it exploded. Everyone headed out and let the arson investigators take over, since its obvious someone had deliberately done this. They stood back and surveyed what the rings of explosives had caused, wondering what else whoever had set this up had in store for them. Would it become a frequent occurrence being called to explosions like this? They all hoped not but only time would tell that one. Before leaving the site, Jimmy headed across the street to check and make sure Kim and the baby were ok.  
  
Kim had gotten up, unable to sleep and looked through the doorway of the nursery looking at the building still smoking from where the flames had been extinguished. She was still shaking a bit when she heard a knock at the door, jumping at the sound.  
  
"Damn girl, get a grip." She told herself as she headed towards the door.  
  
When she opened the door and saw Jimmy on the other side she said, "Jimmy! What are you doing here? Who's with Joey?"  
  
"I came by to see if you were ok. Lt. Johnson called me in the early hours of the morning say they needed extra hands to come help with what was going on across the street so my mom came over to watch Joey so I wouldn't have to get him up." He replied, noticing the cuts she had on the left side of her face and arms.  
  
"You ok?" he asked.  
  
"Shaken up a bit but fine." She replied, seeing him looking at the cuts she'd sustained.  
  
"How'd you get those?" he asked, referring to the cuts.  
  
"I was checking on Keira when the building exploded. I had just picked her up and was flipping through CD's to put one on when the window to the room was blown out." She replied, pushing images of earlier that morning out of her head.  
  
She saw Jimmy's eyes get wide as dinner plates as he asked, "Is the baby ok?"  
  
"She's fine. I took the brunt of the force from the glass, she didn't get a scratch on her." Kim said back.  
  
"Have you slept at all?" he asked in concern.  
  
She shook her head no and replied, "I keep replaying what happened over and over in my head. There's no way I could sleep thinking about that."  
  
Jimmy sighed and said, "Well at least try to get some rest. I'd better be heading out; Joey's probably worried about what's taking so long. He'll probably call over here to make sure you all are ok since this is probably all over the news."  
  
"Ok, I'll see you later," she replied, feeling her eyes getting heavy.  
  
"Take care Kimmy," he said back, heading to go home.  
  
"I will," he heard her reply as he headed for the stairs.  
  
He stopped off at the firehouse and changed clothes and headed home. He called his mother enroute to let her know he was on his way back. He heard Joey talking in the background and could tell he'd seen what had happened during the morning hours on the news when he was flipping channels going to watch some cartoons. When he got home Joey turned to look at him as he came through the door and said, "Is everyone ok at home?"  
  
"Yeah, they all are ok. I checked on them before I left to come home." He replied, seeing the worry not completely gone from Joey's eyes.  
  
"Even Keira?" he asked, searching his father's eyes for an answer.  
  
"She's fine. Your mom wouldn't let anything happen to her." Jimmy replied trying to ease his sons fears, thinking about the cuts she'd received from shielding Keira from the glass.  
  
"Can I call mom and talk to her?" he asked.  
  
"Sure, go ahead." Jimmy replied, heading to talk to his mother.  
  
He found her in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee at the table.  
  
"Is everything ok? Joey's been worried sick but wouldn't explain why." She told her son as he fixed a cup of coffee for himself.  
  
"Yeah, everything's fine. He's worried because Kim and Bobby live right across the street from where that explosion took place, he was also scared something might have happened to his sister." Jimmy replied sitting down at the table.  
  
"Are they ok?" his mother asked.  
  
"Yeah, Kim got some cuts when the window to the nursery was blown out but the baby's fine. She didn't get a scratch on her." He said back to his mother, looking at Joey sitting on the couch with the phone.  
  
Joey quickly dialed the number on the phone and waited for his mom to pick up. Several rings later, Kim finally answered the phone, responding with hints of exhaustion in her voice.  
  
"Hello," she said into the phone, feeling herself about ready to fall asleep, unable to go on without some kind of sleep.  
  
"Mommy! Are you all ok?" she heard her son exclaim into the phone.  
  
"Yeah baby, were ok." She replied, hearing the fear in his voice.  
  
"What happened?" Joey asked, trying to make sense of what he'd seen on TV.  
  
"I don't know. All I do know is that this morning the building across the street exploded when I went to check on your sister." She replied quietly.  
  
"Is Keira ok?" Joey asked softly.  
  
"She's fine. Everything that happened earlier gave her a big scare but she's sound asleep right now. There's not a scratch on her." Kim replied to her son, hearing him sigh with relief.  
  
Joey could hear the tiredness in his mother's voice and said, "I'd better go. Dad's got lunch ready."  
  
"Ok, baby. Behave for your dad, and I'll see you on Monday. I love you," she said to her son.  
  
"I will. I love you too," Joey replied smiling, relieved that everyone was ok and joined his dad for lunch.  
  
Jimmy's mother had left to go back home and Joey headed into the kitchen, seeing his dad putting cheese pizza bread on plates for the two of them. Jimmy looked over his shoulder, seeing his son coming into the room and said, "How's your mother doing?"  
  
"She said she was fine but she sounded really tired." Joey replied, taking a seat at the table.  
  
"I imagine she is tired, she's been up since the explosion this morning. I don't know what time that happened, but I'm sure she could tell us approximately what time it happened." Jimmy said, putting the plate down in front of his son.  
  
Joey sighed and began to dig into the pizza bread his dad had put in front of him. The two talked back and forth, trying to avoid thinking of the events of this morning.  
  
"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"I dunno," Joey replied, finishing up the last bit of pizza bread on his plate.  
  
"Wanna go out to the park and pass a football for a bit?" Jimmy suggested.  
  
"That sounds fun," he replied, putting his plate in the sink.  
  
"Go get ready and we'll head out." Jimmy replied, rinsing off the two plates in the sink.  
  
After Joey was ready, Jimmy grabbed a football from the closet and tucked it under his arm and they headed out to the park for a while.  
  
Upon finishing her conversation with her son, she slowly headed towards his room to check on Keira since that's where they had moved her crib to after the explosion. She was still asleep, and Kim had stretched out across Joey's bed, feeling that she couldn't move any further, her body shutting down due to lack of sleep. Lying on her stomach was the most comfortable position she could find. With the wounds on her left arm and back she couldn't lay on that side, due to the pain that was caused when pressure was applied to the cuts.  
  
Bobby woke up a couple of hours later, seeing Kim not with him made him panic thinking back to this morning. He could still hear her scream echoing in his ears. Instinct told him to look in Joey's room since that was where Keira was, and sure enough there she was. He left the room and grabbed a blanket from the living room and returned, placing it over her as she slept. He gently rubbed his sleeping daughter's stomach and placed a tender kiss on Kim's cheek before going and fixing something to eat.  
  
When Keira began to cry three hours later, Kim woke up thinking of this morning.  
  
"I have got to get a grip on myself." She said to herself, picking Keira up out of the crib. She stretched out on her right side and began to nurse Keira, talking softly to her and gently rubbing her back. Bobby had begun to vacuum up the small pieces of glass on the floor of the nursery after having picked up the larger pieces. He was fortunate Kim hadn't sat down in the rocking chair by the window, because if she had both she and the baby would have been hurt and things would have ended up worse than what they were at the moment.  
  
He knew it would take both of them a while to get over what had happened that morning because neither of them had expected it. Things had been amazing last night, he'd found her going through salsa dance steps and they'd ended up dancing the salsa together for the first time. Not only that, she danced it incredibly well. Like her it had been a while since he'd done the salsa but she moved like no one else he'd ever danced with. Lying together discussing the routine they were going to put together brought a smile to his face, wondering what they would come up with. Then the unthinkable had happened. He'd never been so scared in his life. He couldn't imagine the hurt he would have felt if something had happened to her and Keira, two of the most important people in his life. Hearing her scream combined with the uncontrollable cries of his daughter that morning would be something he would never forget because it had been etched into his memory and knew it had been a miracle neither of them was seriously hurt. 


	39. 72 Hours till Sanity

Things were returning to normal after the explosion that had occurred over the weekend. On Monday everyone was asking Bobby if Kim and the baby were ok after hearing what had happened. The cuts Kim had sustained were almost healed and Keira wasn't showing any signs of distress after her entire ordeal from the weekend. When Jimmy had brought Joey over that afternoon, the first thing he did was hug his mother and Bobby as soon as he got in the door. He'd worried about them all weekend and was relieved to see them that morning. The next thing he did was go and check on Keira, seeing that she was all right.  
  
It wasn't that he didn't believe what his mother or father had told him, just that he felt better seeing with his own eyes that everyone was ok. Saturday afternoon Bobby had called around, seeing about getting the window in the nursery fixed since Joey would want his room back when he came home on Monday. The earliest the window could be fixed was on Monday morning and he prayed the people coming to replace the window didn't bail at the last minute. Luckily they didn't and everything was back to normal when Joey had come back home.  
  
Bobby ended up working with Craig that afternoon since Lieu needed Alex back on the squad after a couple guys had been hurt at the fire the teens had set last Friday. The shift that afternoon was relatively slow so Craig primarily spent most of the day asking Bobby a ton of questions. If the questions had at least been work related that would have been one thing, but it seemed like this guy was interested in everything but work related stuff.  
  
"So, how long you been a medic?" Craig asked.  
  
"Six years," Bobby replied.  
  
"What do you normally do in your spare time?" Craig asked soon after.  
  
"I don't have a whole lot of spare time. Between work and helping raise my daughter, that's normally all I have time for in a day." Bobby replied back.  
  
"How old is she?" Craig questioned.  
  
"Almost two months," Bobby replied smiling.  
  
"What's her name?" Craig asked again.  
  
"Keira," he replied back.  
  
Craig noticed the wedding band Bobby wore and said, "How long you and your wife been together?"  
  
"We've been married for almost two years. We've been friends for over five years." Bobby replied, getting kind of annoyed with all the questions.  
  
I mean he'd rather sit and listen to the non-stop life saga Kim told him about Jimmy before they had gotten married than play twenty questions with the newbie.  
  
Before Craig could get another question out of his mouth Bobby asked, "So, what made you decide to become a paramedic?"  
  
Craig never got a chance to answer because they got a call they had to respond to. Bobby was thankful the endless battery of questions had been interrupted and was even more thankful when the shift was over. He honestly didn't know how on earth he was going to survive the rest of the week if he was working with Craig until Kim came back the following Monday.  
  
That night when he came home he found Kim sitting on the couch. Keira was sitting on Kim's stomach, leaning against her mothers bent legs. Bobby sat down behind his daughter and leaned against Kim's lower legs and gently began to tickle his daughter's sides. Keira had started cooing recently and when Bobby had begun to tickle her she started in again, bringing a smile to his face. Eventually she wore herself out and Bobby picked her up and put her to bed for the evening.  
  
When he returned and sat down next to her, Kim asked, "How was work this evening?"  
  
"Not the same," he replied, pulling her over towards where he was sitting.  
  
"How so?" she asked, curling up next to him.  
  
"For starters you're not there, then there's the rest of the guys driving Alex up the wall about being the only woman in the firehouse, and on top of that I'm stuck with the newbie Doc and Carlos finished training." Bobby replied, putting his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder.  
  
"What happened to Alex?" Kim asked, afraid something had happened to her.  
  
"Lieu needed her back on the squad after a couple guys got hurt." He replied.  
  
"Can you tolerate the newbie till I get back?" she asked curiously.  
  
"I've got no choice. I have to till you come back. This guy is more annoying than Carlos on his worst day. Today I had to put up with his version of twenty questions till we got a call. Then afterwards I didn't dare try and drive around the city like I did earlier so we went back to the station so I could try and get some peace and quiet." Bobby said back to her.  
  
"Come on. Let's go get ready for bed since it sounds like you're gonna need all the rest you can get to put up with the newbie tomorrow." Kim said smirking as she stood up.  
  
"Please don't remind me." Bobby groaned, following her down the hallway.  
  
"I think I'm going to have to come back early just to meet this awful person. I've never seen you complain this much over someone." Kim said laughing.  
  
"If you do everyone at the station would be eternally grateful." Bobby replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Everyone else severely dislikes this guy too?" Kim asked amusingly.  
  
"Oh yes. Alex can't stand him because she can't stand Carlos in the first place. The rest of the guys try to avoid him at all costs." Bobby said.  
  
"Sheesh, I guess you all really do need me back." She replied chuckling.  
  
"More than you'll ever know." Bobby replied, wrapping an arm around her waist as he lay down.  
  
Kim had to laugh at his response, wondering how bad this newbie was. She'd never seen Bobby complain about anyone like this so that had to be some indication.  
  
"You know what?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Nope, don't have a clue." Kim replied, laughing lightly.  
  
"The guys at the station are right. You'd never guess that you'd had two kids with that figure." He said back to her.  
  
"So the guys weren't trying to suck up when they said that." Kim replied, laughing still.  
  
"I'm serious. You'd never know." He said honestly.  
  
"That's the whole point you silly goose." Kim said giggling at his response.  
  
"So you're laughing at me now eh?" he asked.  
  
"You never said I couldn't," she replied smiling, lying on her side to face him.  
  
"But I never said you could either." He replied jokingly.  
  
"And just what are you going to do to make me stop laughing?" She asked curiously.  
  
"Oh I don't know. Maybe this." He replied, placing a gentle kiss on her lips and ever so gently began nibbling on her lower lip.  
  
"Impressive," Kim said, once the sensations had subsided from that kiss.  
  
"Beat that," Bobby replied, a smirk still on his face.  
  
"I'd be more than happy to top that," Kim said back, an evil smile on her face.  
  
"Uh oh, what did I get started," Bobby thought to himself, seeing the look on Kim's face.  
  
Kim got up and left the room for a brief moment, and then returned several minutes later. Bobby had no clue what she was up to or what she was planning on doing to him.  
  
"Sit up," Kim said as she sat back down.  
  
"Should I be scared to sit up?" Bobby asked curiously.  
  
"No, you shouldn't," she replied smiling.  
  
Bobby sat up, wondering what on earth was going to happen. Kim sat down beside him and gently held his face with her hands and kissed him. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, passing the small ice cube she'd hidden in her mouth to him, feeling him jump when the cold piece of ice entered his mouth.  
  
Kim pulled back and looked at the shocked expression on his face and started to laugh.  
  
"There you go laughing at me again," Bobby said jokingly.  
  
"What! I can't help it your reaction was too funny." She said, still laughing.  
  
Bobby shook his head at her and said, "Just wait. I'll get you back when you least expect it."  
  
"We'll see about that now won't we," Kim replied curling up under the blankets;" You'd better get to sleep so you can have a fun day of putting up with the newbie tomorrow."  
  
"You're pushing your luck Kimberly," Bobby said jokingly.  
  
"Since when did you use my full first name Roberto," Kim teased.  
  
Bobby rolled his eyes at her and had to laugh and said, "You've always got to get the last word in don't you."  
  
"You're just now figuring that out? We've known each other how long and you're just now noticing that?" she said in mock horror.  
  
"I see why you and Jimmy clashed so often, both of you have to get the last word in and that's why things drug out forever because you two wouldn't back down." Bobby said snickering.  
  
"You bring Jimmy into the conversation I'm bringing the newbie into it." Kim replied, knowing that whenever she said the word newbie, she was tormenting Bobby to death.  
  
"You're asking for it Kimmy," Bobby warned jokingly.  
  
A smirk crossed Kim's face and she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and whispered the word newbie in his ear. Bobby rolled over to face her and said, "Don't say I didn't give you fair warning."  
  
Without warning, Bobby began to tickle her sides. She tried curling up into a ball to avoid his fingers but that only made him tickle her harder.  
  
"Bobby! Please stop!" Kim gasped out in between fits of laughter.  
  
"You should have listened," Bobby said smiling.  
  
"Bobby! Don't make me take drastic measures!" she gasped as he still tickled her as if there were no tomorrow.  
  
"I don't think you're in any position to be using drastic measures," Bobby replied laughing, thoroughly enjoying tormenting her.  
  
She'd managed to clamp her legs around his mid-section and threw him off balance. As he fell beside her, she managed to roll him onto his back and pinned his arms to his sides.  
  
"I tried to warn you," Kim said smiling.  
  
"You actually think that I can't get up?" Bobby asked comically.  
  
All of a sudden he sat straight up, freeing his arms and grabbing her by the waist to keep her from falling off the bed.  
  
"It's a good thing you caught me or else you'd be paying for it." Kim said laughing, poking him in the stomach.  
  
"How so?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I've got my ways," she replied smiling, watching his reaction.  
  
"You do eh?" he asked, resting his right hand against the small of her back.  
  
"Oh of course I do," she replied smiling, placing an inviting kiss upon his lips.  
  
"This wouldn't be one of them would it?" he asked, nibbling on her neck gently.  
  
"Maybe," she replied softly.  
  
Bobby nipped a little too hard on her neck, causing her to gasp and say, "Take it easy there Dracula"  
  
Bobby looked up at her and said, "Dracula?"  
  
"Who else goes around biting people on the neck for a living." She asked laughing.  
  
"Very funny Kimmy," Bobby replied smiling.  
  
"What did you think I was going to say? Newbie?" she asked innocently.  
  
"You're enjoying tormenting me about that aren't you?" he asked curiously.  
  
"As a matter of fact I am," Kim replied laughing.  
  
The next day at the station Bobby was working on the bus when Craig came in.  
  
"Am I with you again today?" he asked, seeing Bobby look up.  
  
"Yep, go get changed and you can help with inventory." Bobby replied, going back to what he was doing.  
  
As Craig left to get ready, Bobby prayed silently that he didn't have to sit through another round of twenty questions with the newbie. A short time later Alex walked passed the bus, seeing Bobby getting this ready for his shift.  
  
"How's the newbie?" she asked.  
  
"I swear if I have to put up with the same stuff as yesterday I'm tempted to make Kim come back early. She drove me up the wall last night because I was complaining so much last night." Bobby replied.  
  
"You wouldn't," Alex gasped in mock horror.  
  
"If the newbie does the same stuff as yesterday, oh yes I would." Bobby said back, laughing at Alex's reaction.  
  
"If there was a way I could get back on and relieve you I would but I can't." Alex said, trying to make him feel better.  
  
"I know you would. You'd better run along and get ready for your shift." Bobby replied.  
  
"Ok, try and remain sane for three more days," Alex said back, heading inside.  
  
"Easier said than done," Bobby called back to her laughing.  
  
Craig returned and helped Bobby finish the rig and started in asking questions yet again.  
  
"So what does your wife do?" he asked.  
  
"She's a paramedic as well," Bobby replied, silently groaning seeing that this shift would be no different than yesterday's.  
  
"Oh really? Do you all swap work stories?" Craig asked, thinking that she worked at a different station.  
  
"Not really, we tend to not take work home with us." He replied, praying for a call to come in.  
  
"How did the two of you meet?" Craig asked.  
  
Bobby never had a chance to answer when a call came in, sparing him from having to tell Craig all about his personal life.  
  
"Boy is Kim in for a major complaining session tonight," Bobby said to himself as they headed towards the location of the call. 


	40. Not so fortunate

That evening when he got home, he found Kim was sitting on the couch reading a book. She looked up from what she was reading upon hearing the front door open. Judging by the look on his face he'd had a rough shift and she was pretty sure most of it was caused by the newbie.  
  
"Rough shift?" Kim asked, putting her book down.  
  
"Oh yes," he replied, taking a seat next to her on the couch; "Joey and Keira get to sleep ok?"  
  
"Yep, their both out like lights. How much was caused by the newbie?" she asked curiously.  
  
"About half," he replied, relaxing a bit when she wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"More questions?" Kim asked as he stretched out with her across the couch.  
  
"He started in right when he came into the station," Bobby replied.  
  
"So the other half actually had to do with work right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. A lot of major calls came through tonight. This was one of the busiest days I've seen in a while." He replied.  
  
"I saw on the news earlier about a bunch of fires that were started. Anyone get hurt?" Kim asked.  
  
"Luckily no. There weren't any civilian casualties either." Bobby said back to her.  
  
"That's good. Those days are the ones we all wish we had more often." Kim replied sighing.  
  
"You know it," Bobby said in response.  
  
"You seem tense. Go take a shower and I know just the thing to help you relax." Kim told him.  
  
"Another massage?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, only minus the cold lotion." She replied smiling.  
  
"Thank goodness," Bobby said laughing, getting up to go take a shower.  
  
Kim got up from the couch and went to get the vanilla lotion and held it next to the lamp that sat on the bedside table, to warm it up a bit. While he was gone she lit a few candles around the room and turned on some soft music that would hopefully help him relax.  
  
As he stood under the spray of hot water, it relieved some of the tension he felt from earlier. Fifteen minutes later he finished up in the shower and headed back towards their room, after checking on Keira.  
  
"You ready?" Kim asked as he lay down beside her.  
  
"Work your magic on me baby," he replied, as he stretched out on his stomach.  
  
Kim smiled and straddled his lower back and put some lotion into the palm of her hands and put it on him. She then pressed down gently on his shoulders, working the lotion into his skin and continuing down either side of his spine. She moved her hands in parallel lines up either side of his back, gently using the palms of her hands to release the tension in his muscles. She worked her way across his shoulders and then down the sides of his torso, feeling him starting to relax under her touch. She began to knead his muscles with her fingers, starting at his neck and shoulders and working her way down his back slowly. She then began to rake her fingers down his back, starting at his shoulders and ending at waistline of his boxers. She gently began to massage his neck and shoulders by using small circular strokes.  
  
When she was finished she moved to sit on his right side and asked, "How do you feel now?"  
  
"Like I'm in heaven. I really needed that, thanks," he replied, smiling at her.  
  
"Anytime," she replied smiling curling up with him as they got ready for bed.  
  
The next morning Joey began to play with Keira while Kim started breakfast. Keira was cooing up a storm in the next room, which made both Joey and Kim begin to smile. She stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room and watched her son playing with his sister for a bit while breakfast was cooking. She started to cut up some fresh strawberries to go along with the French toast that was cooking when out of the blue she felt someone grab her by the waist and gently bite her neck and start growling causing her to jump.  
  
"Are you trying to cause me to have a heart attack Bobby?" Kim asked laughing, returning to cutting the strawberries.  
  
"I take it I surprised you then." Bobby replied.  
  
"Surprised isn't the word I'd use. More like scared me half to death. Which really isn't a good thing to do with me trying to cut strawberries." She said smirking.  
  
Bobby laughed at her statement and said, "Remember when I said I'd get you back when you least expect it? Well that was it."  
  
"Why doesn't that surprise me," Kim replied giggling, checking on the French toast.  
  
That afternoon at the firehouse while Bobby was getting the bus ready Jimmy came outside, finding him working in the rig.  
  
"When is Kim coming back?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Monday. Why do you ask?" Bobby replied.  
  
"Because I don't know how much more of Craig I can stand." Jimmy groaned.  
  
Bobby had to laugh and said silently to himself, "At least I'm not the only one complaining."  
  
"That makes two of us, at least you don't have to ride with him all shift. I've complained to Kim every night this week about it." Bobby said laughing.  
  
"What did she say?" Jimmy asked curiously.  
  
"She figured he must be really bad seeing as how I rarely ever complain." Bobby replied.  
  
"I think Alex is gonna blow a fuse before Monday because Craig keeps hitting on her." Jimmy said smirking.  
  
"He's hitting on Alex! Poor woman." Bobby replied sympathetically.  
  
"I imagine you'll probably being hearing about it during your shift too," Jimmy said, noticing Craig headed in their direction; "I'd better run your partner's coming."  
  
"See ya," Bobby replied as Jimmy left.  
  
"God I feel sorry for Alex. I don't know who could stand this guy to go out with him." Bobby said to himself before Craig's voice cut through his thoughts.  
  
Alex had gone upstairs to get some peace and quiet from the torment Craig was being when she heard footsteps. She'd just laid down when Jimmy came upstairs.  
  
"Whatever you do, keep the newbie away from me. I'm extremely close to wringing his neck if he doesn't back off." Alex said, hoping Jimmy would help her.  
  
Jimmy laughed and said, "At least you don't have to be in the same vehicle as him like Bobby does."  
  
"I guess I am fortunate then," Alex replied smiling, as Jimmy sat down beside her.  
  
"Yes you are, according to what Bobby told me he's been bitching about this guy to Kim every night this week," Jimmy said.  
  
"Really? What does she think about all this?" Alex asked.  
  
Before Jimmy could answer they heard Craig's voice heading up the stairs.  
  
"Damn, this guy is really starting to piss me off." Alex said looking towards the stairs, getting irritated by this guy's persistence.  
  
All of a sudden an idea popped into Alex's head. She turned towards Jimmy and whispered, "I've got an idea on how to hopefully get him to leave me alone, but I need your help to pull it off."  
  
"You need my help? What are you plotting Alex?" Jimmy asked hesitantly.  
  
"When he gets to the top of the stairs, I want you to kiss me. Hopefully that will deter him from pushing me any farther." Alex replied, seeing the shocked expression on Jimmy's face.  
  
"What if someone's with him!" Jimmy asked, wondering if he should follow through with this.  
  
"We'll straighten it out later. Are you gonna help me or not?" Alex asked quickly.  
  
Not giving Jimmy much time to think he reluctantly said, "Fine, I'll do it."  
  
"I owe you big time. Now get ready." Alex replied.  
  
Craig was walking up the stairs with Bobby not too far behind him, both were talking back and forth when they reached the bunks. Craig blushed when he saw Jimmy kissing Alex, but was also disappointed since he'd been trying to flirt with her before his shift started. Bobby on the other hand, couldn't believe what he was seeing. Craig quickly got something out of his locker and headed back downstairs, Bobby following close behind him.  
  
When they had left the two of them pulled back and Jimmy asked, "Who was with him?"  
  
"Bobby was with him."Alex replied.  
  
Jimmy groaned when Alex told him that Bobby had come up with Craig, and Alex replied, "Don't worry. I'll talk to Bobby so he knows what was going on."  
  
"Good because I can just see him telling Kim about that and me getting a phone call in the middle of the night from her." Jimmy replied, relieved Alex was going to talk to Bobby.  
  
Alex got up and left to go look for Bobby, hopefully away from Craig so she could explain what he had seen. Craig had gone outside and Bobby was grabbing something from the fridge when she came downstairs.  
  
"Bobby, we need to talk," Alex started to say.  
  
Bobby heard Alex's voice and turned around.  
  
"About what?" he asked, figuring it had to do with her kissing Doherty.  
  
"I think you know what about," Alex replied, heading into the TV room since the rest of the guys were working on the engines downstairs.  
  
Bobby followed her and said, "I didn't know you and Jimmy had hooked up."  
  
"We haven't. I told him to kiss me to deter Craig from hitting on me anymore." Alex replied.  
  
"That was staged? It sure didn't look it." Bobby replied.  
  
"I know I was kind of blown away with the way the whole thing went, but I hoped it worked." Alex said back to him.  
  
Jimmy still sat on the bunk upstairs, thinking about what had just happened. Even though the whole thing had been staged to get Craig to leave Alex alone, the kiss the two had shared was amazing to say the least. All he could think about was the feeling he'd gotten when he'd kissed her. He'd always admired her though, because was the first female firefighter he'd met. Everyone saw her as one of the guys, she held her own against them that's for sure. He'd never really thought about hooking up with her though. If he did, would it work out? If things worked out between Bobby and Kim then could they work out for them as well?  
  
Craig sat asking Bobby all kinds of questions about Alex. Most of which Bobby wasn't going to answer because it wasn't his place to do so. He heard Craig say, "I was actually hoping I had a shot with her."  
  
Bobby laughed to himself and said silently, "There's no way in hell you stood a chance with her."  
  
Just to make the poor guy feel better he said, "You'll find the person you're meant to be with when the time is right."  
  
"You really think so?" Craig asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah. I didn't give true love much thought either. Then things changed for the better and I haven't been the same since." Bobby replied.  
  
"Maybe you're right. You never know I might meet that person next week since I have a few days off." Craig said in response.  
  
Bobby had no clue why he was so desperate to hook up with someone but asked, "What days you got off?"  
  
"Monday and Tuesday," Craig replied.  
  
So Kim wouldn't meet the newbie till Wednesday but that meant two days that the station would be back to normal without being driven up the wall by Craig, which would be a blessing upon itself.  
  
That night when the shift was over and Craig had left, Bobby found everyone downstairs talking and said, "Got good news for you all."  
  
"What's that Bobby?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Guess who has two days off next week." He replied.  
  
"Please tell me its Craig," Alex begged.  
  
"Yep, he's got two days off next week. So two days of normalcy around here." Bobby replied smiling.  
  
"Thank god! What two days did he get? That's something we all need to celebrate while he's gone." Alex replied joyfully.  
  
"Monday and Tuesday," Bobby said back to the group at the table.  
  
"Perfect! We all can go out and celebrate Kim coming back to work and him being gone for two days after our shift on Monday! But you can't tell her about this Bobby." Alex said.  
  
"I won't say a word. What did you all have in mind planned to do?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Hey Jimmy, lets go with your idea of going out dancing!" Walsh chimed in.  
  
"Sounds good to me. What do the rest of you all think?" Alex replied.  
  
"I'm game, and I'm pretty sure that'd be cool with Kim too." Bobby replied.  
  
"Awesome, this is going to be a blast!" Alex said with excitement.  
  
That evening when he came home, Kim saw Bobby was a lot more energetic than he had been since he'd been working with Craig.  
  
"Someone's full of energy this evening," she said smiling, placing a tender kiss on his lips.  
  
"I have every right to be. Guess who's not going to be around the firehouse for two days next week." Bobby said.  
  
"The newbie?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yep, so two days the firehouse will be back to normal." He replied smiling.  
  
"How'd your shift go tonight?" Kim questioned.  
  
"Pretty good, although Alex was ready to kill Craig." Bobby said laughing.  
  
"What did he do to her?" Kim asked nervously.  
  
"He was trying to hook up with her." He replied, chuckling.  
  
"Oh god, he's lucky she didn't kill him." Kim replied in astonishment.  
  
"I know, that's what I was thinking. Then after she shot him down he kept asking me all kinds of questions about her. None of which I answered either." Bobby said.  
  
"Sounds like he's the obsessive type." Kim commented, not realizing that statement couldn't be more accurate to describe him.  
  
"Yeah it does." Bobby said in agreement, not foreseeing the troubles that lay ahead.  
  
"You up to working on that little routine we've got to put together?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Sounds good to me," she replied smiling, getting up off the couch and following him back to their room so they could begin working on their little dancing project. 


	41. Exquisite Sin

Monday morning rolled around, signifying the end of her maternity leave. Keira had woken up that morning around 6, wanting to be fed. Kim got up and fed her, spending as much time with her as she could since she had to go back to work that afternoon. She hated leaving her; but then again doesn't every mother hate leaving her child to go back to work?  
  
Most of the stuff had been laid out in advance and packed that way they were sure they didn't forget anything. Bobby had given Kim's mother the heads up about the plans after work and told her not to say anything to Kim about it. They had gotten their salsa routine worked out over the weekend and was impressed with what they'd come up with. Bobby had gotten up around 8, finding Kim with Keira. He realized it was probably going to be hard on her to leave her to come back and went to check and see how the two of them were doing.  
  
"How are the two most beautiful women I know this morning?" he asked, kissing Kim on the head and gently rubbing his daughter's back.  
  
Kim smiled at his comment and looked down at Keira and said, "We're doing good. When did you get up?"  
  
"Just now," Bobby replied smiling, when he saw Keira looking around the room trying to find out where his voice was coming from; "You want me to get Joey up and fix breakfast for everyone?"  
  
"Sure, I'll be in as soon as I finish up with her." Kim replied, watching Bobby head to get Joey up.  
  
Bobby quietly opened the door to Joey's room seeing him sound asleep still. He walked in and said, "Rise and shine kiddo! Time to get up."  
  
Joey groaned, rolling over to look at Bobby. "It's too early!" Joey whined, pulling the covers back up over his head.  
  
"8 am isn't early there bud. Come on, you can help me fix breakfast for your mom." Bobby replied, pulling the covers back off Joey's head.  
  
Joey didn't answer, pretending he'd fallen back asleep, but Bobby knew better.  
  
"You've got till the count of three or I start tickling you till you're out of bed." Bobby said almost ready to laugh.  
  
Joey didn't think he'd do it, but boy was he wrong. When he hit three, Joey hadn't moved so he held up his end of the bargain. Joey broke out into a fit of laughter, rolling around trying to get away from Bobby.  
  
"Mom! Help!" Joey managed to get out, seeing Bobby laughing.  
  
Kim walked into the room seeing what was going on and said smiling, "Don't say I didn't warn you Joey."  
  
"Mom please! Help me!" Joey begged in between fits of laughter, trying to fend off Bobby.  
  
"If I do will you get up?" she asked.  
  
"I'll do anything please!" Joey gasped as Bobby tickled him mercilessly.  
  
"Ok, Bobby let him up." Kim said smiling, seeing the disappointment cross Bobby's face.  
  
Bobby stopped and stood up and joined Kim at the door of Joey's room.  
  
"Make your bed and go help Bobby with breakfast while I take care of your sister." Kim told her son, heading back to the nursery.  
  
Kim got Keira changed and gently ran a soft bristled brush through her daughters curly hair and put her down in the playpen in the living room while the three of them ate breakfast together.  
  
When it was time to go, they got Keira situated and headed over to Kim's mother's house since she was going to be watching the kids while they worked. Her mother sat anxiously, waiting for them to arrive. When she saw them pull up, she stepped outside and saw her grandson running towards her.  
  
"Nana!" Joey called, giving her a hug.  
  
"Hey sweetheart, how are you and your sister doing?" she asked, seeing her daughter carrying Keira towards her.  
  
"Really good," Joey exclaimed, seeing his mother bringing his sister over.  
  
"My she's grown fast!" her mother said, taking Keira from her daughter's arms.  
  
"I know. Where does time go?" Kim replied to her mother.  
  
"Before you know it she'll be walking and talking." Her mother said laughing.  
  
Bobby shook his head and laughed as Kim said, "Luckily we've still got some time before she hits that stage."  
  
"You two have a safe shift," her mother called as they left to head to work.  
  
"We will. See you all when we get off." Kim replied, unaware of what had been planned.  
  
When they got to the firehouse, they didn't see anyone around which was strange because normally the place is a flurry of activity. Kim looked at her watch and looked at Bobby with a confused look on her face.  
  
"Where is everyone? I know we didn't miss any time changes or anything," Kim said as they headed upstairs.  
  
"I know, good question," Bobby replied, knowing everyone was hiding.  
  
When they got upstairs they didn't see anyone either, so the two of them got ready for their shifts and changed into their uniforms. Before they headed back downstairs Bobby said, "Ready for a fun day back?"  
  
"You know it," she replied smiling, placing a gentle kiss on his lips before heading downstairs.  
  
As the two pulled back, everyone came out of the shower area since Kim had her back to them and yelled, "Surprise!"  
  
"You all must not want me back if you're trying to give me heart attack. I'm sure the newbie would love it too," Kim said laughing as her colleagues welcomed her back.  
  
"Trust me, they missed you all right. I think they would be going nuts if you weren't back." Lt. Johnson said smiling.  
  
Everyone groaned at her comment about the newbie and Jimmy said, "We couldn't be happier to see you back."  
  
As the shift got underway things were relatively quiet till later when things picked up a bit.  
  
"Man I missed this while I was off," Kim sighed heading towards the bus with Bobby, happy to be getting back into the swing of things.  
  
"And we're glad to have you back too!" Alex replied, heading with Carlos towards their rig.  
  
When the shift was over Kim had gone upstairs to change and Alex had stopped Bobby to ask him something.  
  
"She doesn't know about the dancing thing right?" Alex asked.  
  
"Nope. I didn't tell her. The only person who knows is her mom since she's got the kids." Bobby replied.  
  
"Good, I'll go up and tell her we're all going out." Alex said, heading upstairs.  
  
"She'll probably try and bail so I'll follow you and back you up." Bobby replied, following her.  
  
Kim had just finished changing when she saw Bobby and Alex coming up.  
  
"Hey Kim! Let's go! We're all going out to celebrate tonight." Alex said.  
  
"I can't. We've got to pick up the kids at my mom's." Kim replied.  
  
"All ready taken care of," Bobby replied, smiling mischievously.  
  
"Bobby? What have you two been up to?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Bobby replied innocently.  
  
"Because you have that look that you're hiding something," she replied grinning.  
  
"Come on Kim, you're going with us whether you like it or not." Alex replied smiling.  
  
"When did you talk to my mother about this Bobby?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"We've had this planned out since last week, so I talked to her in advance and told her not to mention anything to you." Bobby replied snickering.  
  
"I see one thing's changed since I've been gone." Kim said laughing.  
  
"What's that?" Alex asked.  
  
"You all have become more conniving," she replied chuckling.  
  
"I think she's right there Alex," Bobby replied, pinching Kim's sides.  
  
"Just what are we doing tonight?" Kim asked, elbowing Bobby to get him to quit pinching her.  
  
"We're all going out dancing," Alex replied, getting her stuff.  
  
"Then I'm gonna have to run by the apartment and change because I didn't bring a suitable outfit." Kim said to Bobby.  
  
Alex gave Bobby the location to where they were going and everyone headed out to the party destination and Kim and Bobby headed to change and meet up with their colleagues.  
  
Bobby sat in the living room since he'd brought his outfit to work and called, "Come on Kim! Hurry up!"  
  
"I'm coming!" Kim replied, stepping out of their room wearing a medallion print black and white lace top with a matching handkerchief skirt and black ankle-strapped wedge sandals.  
  
Bobby's breath left him and for a few moments. He was speechless as he caught sight of Kim and her outfit of choice.  
  
"Sorry it took so long, I couldn't decide on what to wear." She replied standing next to the chair he sat in.  
  
"Don't be. You look amazing in that outfit." He replied still somewhat at a loss for words.  
  
"You sure this is ok? I could try on the other outfit for you and see which you like better." She said in response.  
  
"What is the other outfit?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Very short black skirt, matching sandals and a spaghetti strapped midriff top with an illusion waist line." She replied.  
  
"I'm for what you have on now because I'd hate to have one of the cops across the street arrest you for indecent exposure." Bobby said laughing.  
  
"Nice to know what you think of some of the clothes I have Bobby," she replied jokingly, lightly punching him in the shoulder.  
  
"You asked and I gave you my honest opinion," he said chuckling.  
  
"Come on and let's go, everyone's waiting." Kim replied, pulling him up out of the chair.  
  
Meanwhile, everyone else is sitting around a table at the club, waiting on Kim and Bobby to show up.  
  
"I think we should have told her in advance so she could have planned an outfit. We'll be lucky if they even make it here at all because of her trying to pick the right thing to wear." Jimmy groaned.  
  
"What? You think she's gonna wear some barely there outfit or something?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"Quite possibly," Jimmy replied.  
  
"Come on Jimmy. Do you really think Bobby would let her wear something like that?" D.K questioned.  
  
"Depends on the outfit I guess," Jimmy said, taking another drink from the beer he had in his hand.  
  
Just then Walsh looked towards the entrance and his jaw just about hit the table.  
  
"Boy what are you looking at?" D.K asked, unsure what had happened to him.  
  
"Look at the door." Walsh replied stunned.  
  
"Damn! Looks like you were dead wrong Jimmy." D.K replied his reaction similar to Walsh's.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked, since his back was towards the door.  
  
"Turn around and see for yourself." D.K said to his friend.  
  
Jimmy turned around and just about choked on the swig of beer in his mouth at the sight of his ex-wife.  
  
Alex got their attention and she and Bobby headed over to where her colleagues were sitting.  
  
"Sorry it took so long. It took a certain someone a little longer than expected to get ready." Bobby replied smirking.  
  
Kim had a general idea of what the guys thought of the outfit she had on simply by the fact that they were almost staring at her.  
  
"Ok boys, I know you all want to say something so go ahead and say it." Kim said, almost afraid of what she was going to hear.  
  
Jimmy, Walsh, D.K, Lombardo and Carlos took one look at her and said in unison, "Damn you look good."  
  
Alex broke up the gawking session when she said, "Are you all gonna sit around here and stare at her or actually do what we came here to do?"  
  
"Both," they all replied, watching her and Bobby head out to the dance floor.  
  
"You guys are hopeless," Alex said, rolling her eyes; "Just incase you forgot, she's married so you might as well start looking at someone else to gawk over."  
  
All the guys just stared at the two on the dance floor as they got closer and closer together, the beat to the music picking up in tempo. They were almost dancing the same way they had on their honeymoon, only with a little more fire thrown into it tonight. After dancing to at least three different songs, they came back over for a break and Bobby went and got Kim something to drink while she sat and talked with Alex.  
  
"Now aren't you glad you came with us this evening?" Alex asked laughing, taking another sip from her drink.  
  
"I am actually. Apart from having the guys staring at me constantly I've had a blast so far." Kim replied taking the drink that Bobby passed to her.  
  
"I told you you'd have a good time," Alex replied smiling, when Jimmy came over and took her out to the dance floor.  
  
Everyone sat around and talked for a bit when a song pretty close to the one they'd practiced their salsa routine to came on.  
  
"Shall we unveil our masterpiece?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Definitely," she replied, taking his hand as they headed out to the floor.  
  
The crowd on the floor had thinned out some, which gave them room to move about a bit more. Alex had turned to say something to Jimmy, but didn't even get a response from him. She noticed all the guys were staring in the same direction on the floor.  
  
"Damn I didn't know she could salsa!" Carlos said, watching the two on the floor.  
  
"Is that what they're doing?" Jimmy asked, unable to take his eyes off the way Kim was moving.  
  
"Yeah," Carlos replied watching the intricate movements the two were performing.  
  
Alex was even surprised and was watching. She'd never seen anything like this before and neither had anyone else around them either. It seemed as if all eyes were on them during this one song. The two didn't even look at the faces of the crowd watching them, they primarily focused on each others faces, going with the flow of the music, letting the rhythm guide them as they moved. The five-minute routine seemed to go on forever, but was captivating to watch. When they came off the floor, the look on the faces of their colleagues gave them the general consensus as to what they thought.  
  
"When did you learn how to do that?" Jimmy asked in amazement when Kim came off the floor.  
  
"I learned how to dance like that a year after our divorce was final." Kim replied, taking a sip of her drink.  
  
The group stayed about three more hours and eventually called it quits since they all had to work the next afternoon.  
  
When they got home Bobby said, "That was a fun after work get together if I do say so myself."  
  
"God I'm exhausted after all that!" Kim exclaimed, heading into their room to change.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," Bobby replied laughing, still full of energy after the night's events.  
  
"No I'm not kidding. Plus you've had a bit too much to drink tonight. You're lucky I decided not take the same route you took on drinks or we wouldn't have made it home." Kim chuckled.  
  
"You worry too much Kimmy," Bobby said wrapping his arms around her, nuzzling her neck.  
  
"I do not!" Kim replied laughing turning around to face him.  
  
When she turned around, Bobby cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her gently at first. The kiss that followed was more passionate and heated.  
  
"Is there another reason you wanted the kids out of the house?" she asked softly, as Bobby lowered her to the bed.  
  
"Not really, but why not take advantage of them not being here. It's not like I don't enjoy having them around. You never know, we might just have a few more later on." He replied smiling, kissing her throat.  
  
"No more till Keira's older though." Kim said in response, shuddering at the trail of kisses he was placing upon her.  
  
"Fair enough," he replied, as he watched the emotions play across her face.  
  
They hadn't been in this position since the night that Keira had been conceived. The next morning the two didn't get up till around 10. Bobby was the first to get up, finding Kim still asleep next to him. He slipped out of bed and headed off for a quick shower before he got started on making breakfast since it was just the two of them that morning. After fixing omelet's, toast, orange juice and fresh cut strawberries, he carried the two plates back into their room, placing them on the nightstand for a moment. He left to get the two glasses of orange juice and returned once more. She was still asleep, lying on her stomach completely unaware that Bobby had brought her breakfast in bed. He gently began to rub her neck and shoulders to wake her up and quietly whispered in her ear, "Good morning."  
  
"What time is it?" she asked, reaching for the robe she had on the headboard of the bed.  
  
"Almost eleven." He replied, getting up to get the plates.  
  
After she'd slipped into the robe and sat back down he said, "You don't even have to worry about breakfast either.", carrying the plates over to the bed.  
  
"You didn't have to do all this," Kim said in astonishment at what he had done for her.  
  
"I know, but you deserve it." He replied, sitting down next to her in bed.  
  
After they'd eaten and he'd taken the dishes back in the kitchen and she got up and took a relaxing shower. They left early to stop and visit with Joey and Keira before they headed into work for the day. Bobby and Joey were bickering with each other and Kim and her mom were heading in to check on Keira.  
  
"Everything go ok with the kids last night?" Kim asked, seeing her daughter smiling when she picked her up.  
  
"Yep, Joey wore her out playing with her so when they went to bed, neither one of them made a peep." Her mother replied.  
  
"What did you think of the surprise all your coworkers planned for you?" her mother asked as they headed back towards Joey and Bobby.  
  
"I was shocked. I can't believe you didn't tell me though." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"They told me not to so I didn't." her mother responded as they entered the living room.  
  
"I hope you two were behaving in here." Kim said chuckling as she sat down with Keira.  
  
"We were mom," Joey replied smirking, looking over at Bobby.  
  
"You sure? The look on your face says other wise." Kim said to her son, ruffling his hair.  
  
"Mom!" Joey groaned as everyone began to laugh.  
  
Bobby looked down at his watch and saw that it was just about time to head in to work.  
  
"We'll see you all this evening when we get off work," Kim said, placing Keira in her mother's arms.  
  
Joey gave his mother and Bobby a hug goodbye and watched them leave.  
  
When they arrived at the station, things were bustling. Doc had taken some time off since the newbie was around now. Alex rode with Carlos on Tuesday since the newbie was off and would be coming back the next day. When Bobby saw Alex he said, "The last day of normalcy is upon us."  
  
"Please don't remind us Bobby!" Alex whined, her stomach churning at the thought of having Craig back tomorrow.  
  
"I bet Kim's in for a surprise since she hasn't met him either," Jimmy replied smirking.  
  
"I've heard enough about the guy to get an idea of what he's like. Plus my sources tell me you were in on the whining too." Kim replied getting a bottle of water and pressing it against the back of Jimmy's neck.  
  
"Kimmy quit! You know I hate it when people do that." Jimmy replied.  
  
"I know. That's why I did it." She teased, heading out to the bus with Bobby.  
  
The shift that day was relatively steady till that night when things backed off. After their last run they headed back to the station since things were quieting down when Kim said, "So what behavior should I expect from the newbie tomorrow?"  
  
"Do you have to bring up the subject of the newbie? Brings back bad memories from last week." Bobby replied.  
  
"Come on Bobby! You don't have to worry about being paired with him because I'm back." Kim said laughing.  
  
"Still, he's annoying. He'll probably ask you a million questions like he did me." Bobby replied snickering.  
  
"I'll be the judge of that tomorrow." Kim said, getting out of the bus to head into the station.  
  
"Let's hope he doesn't flirt mercilessly with you like he did with Alex." Bobby replied to her as the walked up to the kitchen. 


	42. Releasing the Demons

The next day at the station Bobby had started on the rig since Kim was changing. The newbie had come in and everyone silently groaned about him coming back. Jimmy thought there was something slightly off about him today though. Something didn't seem right with him. Jimmy and Alex headed downstairs to check something on one of the engines when he said, "Is it me or is something slightly off with Craig?"  
  
"I think your right, he had a weird vibe going." Alex replied.  
  
Jimmy headed back upstairs and Alex headed out to where Bobby was.  
  
"Kim getting ready?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," he replied taking a break from what he was doing.  
  
"I have a weird feeling about the newbie today. Something doesn't seem right with him." Alex replied, looking inside.  
  
"How so?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I can't place it. When he came in it I got a weird vibe from him, it was really freaky." Alex replied.  
  
"I'd better go warn Kim before he heads upstairs then." Bobby replied, getting out of the rig.  
  
As the two of them headed upstairs they saw Craig talking to one of the other firefighters. Alex went and helped Jimmy and Bobby headed up to where Kim was.  
  
Kim heard footsteps and saw Bobby on his way up the stairs.  
  
"Newbie here?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I came up here to give you the heads up." Bobby replied.  
  
"Ok, I should be down in a few. I'm just about done up here." She said in return, buttoning up her uniform top.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in response and headed back down to finish with the bus. Kim quickly ran a brush through her hair and pulled it up. After taking a final look at the pictures she kept of Joey and Keira in her locker, she grabbed her cell phone and put it in her pocket and closed the door and turned around. As she turned she ended up being face to face with the newbie. She hadn't even heard his footsteps coming up the stairs he was so quiet.  
  
Craig walked up the stairs seeing a new face he hadn't seen last week. He walked quietly towards her, not making any noise at all. "She's the one I will be with." He thought to himself, looking Kim over; "She's even better than the other blonde I was hitting on last week." After a failed attempt at finding a girlfriend over the weekend he set out to do whatever it took, regardless of what it included to try and win the person over {if you could even call it winning them over.}  
  
"I don't believe we've met." Craig said in a polite tone, standing behind her.  
  
"I'm Kim," she replied.  
  
"Nice to meet you. I'm Craig." He said back to her; "You and I should hook up some time."  
  
"No can do, I'm already seeing someone," she replied, trying to move past him.  
  
After having been shot down by Alex and a failed attempt over the weekend at finding someone he said, "I always get what I want, regardless.", moving to block her path as she tried to leave.  
  
The tense moment between the two was broken when footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Craig moved out of the way and Kim stormed off, muttering under her breath about her confrontation with the newbie. She brushed past Alex on the stairs, when she grabbed Kim's arm and said quietly, "You look pissed, I take it you ran into the newbie."  
  
"Did I ever!" she whispered angrily heading downstairs.  
  
Alex turned around and went back downstairs, seeing Kim getting something to drink she headed out to give Bobby the heads up.  
  
"Hey Bobby! I think all hell is gonna break loose if the newbie gets anywhere near Kim again." She said quietly.  
  
"What happened?" he replied, almost cutting her off.  
  
"I don't know. I was going upstairs to get something from my locker when she storms past me, muttering under her breath." Alex said, seeing a worried look cross his face.  
  
Bobby got out of the rig and headed in to check on Kim to see if she was ok after what Alex had told him. Alex followed suit and they found her sitting on the back of one of the trucks, trying to blow off some steam. Bobby put a hand on her shoulder and said, "What happened?"  
  
"I'll explain later. Let me cool off for a bit and I'll tell you when we leave." She replied, her blood still boiling at the newbie's arrogance.  
  
"Ok, we'll be nearby if you need us." Bobby replied, turning with Alex to leave her alone for a bit.  
  
After they had left, Kim got up and was pacing in between the trucks, muttering angrily to herself when she felt someone spin her around and shove her against one of the trucks.  
  
"You and I will be together, no one can stop me!" Craig whispered coldly, not releasing the grip he had on her shoulders.  
  
"Like Hell," she responded just as coldly as she wrenched out of his grasp.  
  
"And what are you going to do about it sweet thing? Who's going to stop me?" Craig taunted.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Kim half yelled, getting everyone's attention upstairs.  
  
Craig knew her response had gotten the attention of everyone upstairs and let her go, watching her storm off with an evil smile on his face.  
  
Kim stormed outside fuming at Craig's actions towards her. Bobby had heard her angry response and assumed it was aimed towards the newbie and took off outside, seeing her heading that direction. Jimmy looked in the direction Kim had come from and saw Craig coming from the same area, and put two and two together that he was trying to start something with her.  
  
"Something definitely isn't right with him Jimmy," Alex said, seeing the worried look on Jimmy's face.  
  
"I know. What happened to him over the weekend to put him in this attitude?" Jimmy questioned.  
  
"Good question, and what does it have to do with Kim. It's like he completely changed personas in four days." Alex replied.  
  
"Yeah. I think we'd better keep an eye on Kim around the station till we see what's up with this guy." Jimmy said, looking over at Alex.  
  
"That's a good idea." Alex replied quietly, looking outside.  
  
Kim sat in the back of the rig, her back facing the open doors when Bobby came out to check on her.  
  
"Kim? What did he do?" Bobby asked softly.  
  
She never answered and he climbed up in the back of the rig and sat beside her and said, "Come on Kim. Talk to me. What happened?"  
  
She finally said something in response even though it didn't answer any of his questions.  
  
"How in the hell did you tolerate putting up with him for a week?" she exclaimed, looking over at him.  
  
"Kimmy, answer me. What did he do?" Bobby asked again.  
  
"Newbie there doesn't know the meaning of the word no." Kim began to say.  
  
"What did he say?" he asked gently.  
  
"First he started out saying that he and I should hook up but I told him no, I can't because you and I are together. Next thing I know he's blocking my path and says that he always gets what he wants and who did I think was going to stop him." She said, pausing to draw in a shaky breath.  
  
"Come on, lets get out of here." Bobby suggested.  
  
Kim nodded her head and went inside to talk to Alex before they left. When she went upstairs she saw Jimmy and Alex talking in the kitchen. Jimmy looked up when he heard footsteps and saw Kim coming and said, "Everything ok?"  
  
"It will be as soon as a certain someone backs off." Kim replied before Craig walked into the room, glaring at him as he walked past her.  
  
Jimmy put his hand on Kim's arm and said, "Be careful around him. Something's not right with him. He wasn't like this last week."  
  
"I will. My plan is to avoid him at all costs." Kim replied, patting Jimmy on the shoulder as she removed two bottles of water from the fridge.  
  
"He wasn't like this when he tried hitting on me last week. Make sure you watch your back." Alex said, concern appearing in her voice.  
  
While Kim was gone, Craig walked outside and found Bobby double checking stuff in his rig.  
  
"Am I with you again today?" Craig asked.  
  
"No," Bobby replied; "My partner came back on Monday so you'll have to see who you're paired with."  
  
"You're with the hot blonde?!" Craig asked, seeming shocked.  
  
"Yeah," Bobby answered, feeling his blood starting to boil; "She's been my partner for the last five years."  
  
"Damn you're lucky! I'd love to have a piece of her." Craig replied with envy.  
  
"Don't you dare talk about her like that." Bobby said, through clenched teeth.  
  
"You don't want her?! I can just imagine what a night with her would be like." Craig replied jealously.  
  
Hearing that was all it took to push Bobby over the edge.  
  
"You had better watch your mouth!" Bobby fumed, ready to tear into Craig for what he'd just said.  
  
Craig noticed Bobby's reactions to his statements and decided to keep pressing him, seeing how long it took for him to snap.  
  
"Why? You sweet on her or something?" Craig taunted; "Afraid she doesn't want to be with you?"  
  
Bobby grabbed Craig by the shoulders and shoved him into the side of the ambulance and said, "You say one more thing about my wife and .."  
  
"And what!" Craig taunted; "Afraid she'll leave you? Let anyone who wants to take her. She'll be calling out their name instead of yours!"  
  
Jimmy had been working on one of the engines and caught the tail end of Craig's statement.  
  
"Oh hell! Bobby's gonna kill him for saying that!" Jimmy thought to himself.  
  
"Come on boys! We've got a fight we gotta break up before it escalates!" Jimmy said, rushing outside.  
  
D.K, Walsh and Lombardo all followed quickly and saw the fury showing on Bobby's face.  
  
"Walsh! Get Kim and Alex out here now!" D.K said.  
  
Before Walsh had a chance to go, Craig shoved Bobby backwards and snapped, "You couldn't take me down if you tried!"  
  
D.K and Jimmy held Bobby back since he was ready to rip Craig to pieces and Lombardo and Walsh kept Craig from moving towards Bobby provoking him any farther. Carlos walked outside, looking for Craig and walked into a war zone.  
  
"Nieto! Get your ass over here and get your partner out of here now!" Jimmy yelled.  
  
"Lemme go change. I was coming to look for him." Carlos replied, motioning towards Craig before heading back inside.  
  
Kim and Alex were still talking when they heard Jimmy yell for them. Bobby was still straining against Jimmy and D.K but they weren't budging.  
  
"Bobby! Back down for heaven's sake! Whatever he said, let it go!" Jimmy said, as Kim and Alex came out of the firehouse.  
  
Alex looked at Kim and said, "Oh jeez! What did Craig start with Bobby?"  
  
"Do we want to know?" Kim asked, rushing towards the group.  
  
Jimmy saw Kim and Alex and said, "Kim get him out of here before he tears Craig to pieces."  
  
"Not that we wouldn't mind that of course," Alex replied softly following Kim.  
  
When Kim moved around standing beside Jimmy, she could subconsciously feel Craig's eyes moving over her. She put her hand on Bobby's upper arm and said, "Bobby. Come on, let's go."  
  
He eventually quit straining against Jimmy and D.K and stormed over to the passenger side of the bus. Carlos appeared minutes later, collecting his partner from Walsh and Lombardo and leaving. Jimmy looked at Kim and said, "Whatever you do, keep those two apart. I don't want to know what he said to set Bobby off like that but whatever it was it couldn't have been good."  
  
"Not a problem," Kim replied, climbing into the driver's seat of the ambulance.  
  
As she drove, she tried to get Bobby to talk but all he kept doing was muttering to himself angrily in Spanish. She could still see the fury in his eyes and stopped the bus down near the river and said, "Bobby please. Talk to me.  
  
He heard the pleading tone in her voice and saw the worried expression on her face when he fumed, "Craig had better not get anywhere near us or his ass is in for it!"  
  
"Are you going to tell me what he did to set you off?" Kim asked.  
  
Bobby took a deep breath and began to recount what Craig had said. As she sat and listened to what Craig had said about her, she fought to keep her thoughts in check.  
  
"His ass is so dead next time he gets near me!" Kim growled, once Bobby had finished.  
  
After talking about everything they could think of to try and erase the memory of Craig's hurtful words, hey headed back to the station since no calls had come in. When they returned they both were relieved, seeing Craig not around. Kim headed up to call and check on the kids while Bobby began to talk to Alex and Jimmy. Kim sat on her bunk talking with her mother and hearing Joey playing with Keira in the background, hearing her cooing up a storm and Joey laughing. After checking on them, she headed back downstairs and rejoined Alex, Bobby and Jimmy in the kitchen.  
  
"How's the baby?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"She's fine. Joey's been playing with her since we left. It should be about time for her afternoon nap." Kim replied smiling, glancing down at her watch.  
  
The good mood was broken when Craig and Carlos came back to the station. Kim stood up and said, "I'm going up for some fresh air. I don't want to be anywhere near this creep."  
  
Bobby stood up to follow her when Alex put her hand on his arm and said, "Let her have some time to herself for a bit."  
  
Bobby left and went to shoot some hoops, brushing past Craig, forcing himself not to haul off and punch the guy's lights out. As Kim sat on the roof, she leaned against a wall, drawing her knees to her chest, as a thousand different questions flooded through her head.  
  
"Why is he so obsessed with me? Why on earth did he change attitudes when I showed up, did something happen to him over the weekend or what? Why is he so intent on pushing Bobby's buttons like that?" she asked herself silently.  
  
As she tried to answer her own questions, she heard the door to the roof open and heard someone talking to themselves aloud. When she focused on the voice, she felt anger building, wondering what the hell he was doing up here.  
  
"Does anyone know his ass is up here?" she asked herself silently; "Because if he starts pissing me off, he's in for it!"  
  
Alex and Jimmy sat talking when Carlos came up from outside.  
  
"Where's Craig?" Alex asked.  
  
"Dunno, he came up before I did." Carlos replied, heading towards the T.V room.  
  
She looked over at Jimmy and said, "Did you see him walk by recently?"  
  
"No, did you?" he replied.  
  
Alex shook her head no and said, "This guy is too sneaky. What's his real reason for being here?" 


	43. Forsaken

Recognizing the voice as belonging to Craig, she remained seated, hoping he wasn't looking for her, or if he was that he didn't find her. As he headed across the roof in her direction she heard him say, "Damn it, where is she? She's got to be up here some where!" The sound of his voice made her panic slightly, hoping he'd turn around and leave.  
  
"Why can't he leave me the hell alone!" Kim said angrily to herself, the thoughts of what he'd said to Bobby coming back to her.  
  
She closed her eyes, silently hoping Craig would buzz off and leave her alone. But much to her dismay, next thing she knew he was sitting next to her.  
  
"Damn it!" she cursed silently, opening her eyes when she felt him put his hand on her knee.  
  
"There you are," Craig said smiling.  
  
"What do you want!" Kim snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
"Just to talk, that's all." He replied, moving his hand from her knee to her arm.  
  
"What is there to talk about?" she demanded.  
  
"Come on. You're not being fair about this." Craig replied.  
  
"Fair?! You call what you said to me and my husband fair to us!? I've got nothing more to say to you!" Kim said vehemently, getting up and heading to go back inside.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Craig sneered, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back to where he stood. The instant she felt him pull her back she began to fight back but Craig soon pinned her against the wall and said coldly, "You will be mine, regardless of whether you cooperate or not!"  
  
She fought even harder against him. When he moved in to try and kiss her, she moved her head away to avoid him. He grasped her lower jaw in his left hand, keeping her head immobile as he forcefully began to kiss her. Bruises had begun to form on her arms and jaw from the pressure he'd applied, but she still continued to fight against the hold he had her in as tears began to fall down her face.  
  
"I love a fiery woman," Craig sneered, releasing her and leaving the roof.  
  
Alex had gone to check on Bobby and Jimmy was headed up towards the roof to check on Kim when he saw Craig on his way down from the roof with a smirk on his face.  
  
"Oh shit! What's he done?" Jimmy asked silently when he reached the stairs leading to the roof.  
  
Jimmy dashed up towards the roof and frantically searched for Kim but didn't see her, but heard someone crying. He looked over the edge of the roof and saw Bobby cooling off for a bit and yelled down to him.  
  
"Hey Bobby!" he yelled.  
  
"What?" Bobby yelled in reply, turning to look up towards the roof.  
  
"Get up here! Something's happened!" Jimmy replied, before leaving the edge of the building.  
  
Alex had just come out finding Bobby taking a break from shooting basketball and saw him glance in her direction before racing past her, back inside the firehouse.  
  
"Bobby! Wait!" Alex called out, spinning around on a dime and following him.  
  
Jimmy canvassed the roof, finding Kim lying on the ground on her left side crying. He knelt down beside her and gently said, "Sssh, it's ok. Come here."  
  
As he helped her sit up, she looked over at him as a fresh round of sobs tore through her. He saw the bruises on her arms and jaw and realized Craig had to have been the one who had caused them. As he waited on Bobby to come up he tried to calm her down but was more focused on confronting Craig later on. Alex and Bobby rushed onto the roof but saw no one. They did however hear the crying and followed the sounds till they found Jimmy trying to calm Kim down. Anger rose in Bobby when he saw her in tears with bruises on her arms, realizing who had to have caused them.  
  
"Jimmy, what happened!" Bobby asked, dropping to his knees beside them.  
  
"Stay with her," Jimmy replied, getting up and storming off to find Craig.  
  
Kim looked up into Bobby's eyes and threw her arms around his neck, still crying when he softly began to whisper, "El todo es va a estar bien a bebé. Calme apenas. Usted es seguro. Yo no permitiré que nada acontecerá más a usted. El no lo lastimará ya. Relájese apenas y el todo será fino."  
  
She gradually began to calm down, but was still trembling. He'd gotten a look at the bruise on her jaw and did the best he could to comfort her, even though he was ready to kick Craig's ass from here to China and back.  
  
Jimmy found Craig sitting on the back of his rig and headed towards him.  
  
"What the hell is your problem!" Jimmy said heatedly.  
  
"What problem?" Craig responded, acting as if nothing had happened.  
  
"Why do you keep harassing Bobby's wife" Jimmy demanded angrily.  
  
"She's hot that's why!" he replied, wondering what connection Jimmy had to her.  
  
"There are plenty of single good looking women in the city, why her?" Jimmy fumed.  
  
"She stands out from the others, has a different aire about her that I find appealing." He replied calmly.  
  
"Here's a news flash Einstein she's never going to be with you! She'd never cheat on Bobby like that." Jimmy hissed.  
  
"At least not willingly she wouldn't" Craig replied.  
  
"What the hell does that mean asshole!" Jimmy demanded.  
  
"I'm sure with the right amount of leverage it could be done," Craig sneered.  
  
"You harm one hair one her head or anyone else in her family and I'll personally help Bobby kick your ass." Jimmy growled, glaring at Craig.  
  
"Why so overprotective of her?" Craig questioned curiously.  
  
"She's my ex-wife, mother of my son and my best friend, that's why!" Jimmy replied vehemently.  
  
"So she's had two kids. Damn you'd never know it!" Craig responded snidely.  
  
"Just leave her, Bobby and her kids alone or you will be sorry!" Jimmy warned, before returning to the roof.  
  
When he arrived back on the roof, the three of them were still in the same spot they'd been in when he left.  
  
"Hey Bobby, we need to talk." Jimmy said.  
  
Bobby got up and headed over towards where he was and when they were out of earshot of Kim and Alex, asked, "What's the matter?"  
  
"I just finished having a little conversation with the asshole downstairs and he's got something planned that doesn't sound too good." Jimmy began to say.  
  
"What did he tell you!" Bobby replied, almost cutting him off.  
  
"I told him he didn't stand a chance with her because you two were together and that she would never do anything behind your back when he snidely responded, 'I'm sure with the right amount of leverage it could be done.'"  
  
Rage began to grow within Bobby as he thought about that psycho doing something to hurt Kim and let loose an angry stream of words in Spanish.  
  
"¡Eso maldice a hijo de una ramera! El piensa aún acerca de lastimarla otra vez yo personalmente lo mataré yo mismo. ¡El piensa aún acerca de hacer algo a ella con mí alrededor de y patearé su como como debe tener ayer!"  
  
Several minutes later the two returned to where Alex and Kim were seated. Alex looked up upon hearing their footsteps and turned her attention back towards Kim, realizing whatever Jimmy had told Bobby couldn't have been good.  
  
"Let's get her back inside. Providing a certain someone isn't hanging around." Bobby said, an icy tone entering his voice at the end of the statement.  
  
"I'll go check and see if Craig's gone." Alex replied, getting up and heading inside.  
  
Five minutes later she returned with the news that Craig was gone on a run and that it was safe to bring her inside.  
  
After his shift was over, Craig sat in his apartment with a beer in hand, looking through several pictures he'd taken of Kim, smiling evilly as he looked at them.  
  
"Soon my dear, our destiny will be fulfilled. Whether you cooperate or not." He said vengefully, laughing silently at the plan he'd just thought up.  
  
Meanwhile Kim lay in bed, gently stroking her sleeping daughter's hair as she tried to forget the events that had occurred at work. Joey quietly came in and sat down next to his mother, knowing something wasn't right.  
  
"Why are you so sad?" he asked softly.  
  
"Just a bad day at work baby, that's all." She replied quietly, hugging him and her daughter close.  
  
He saw the pain in her eyes and curled up alongside her and his sister, trying to be some source of comfort for his mother. Bobby had been taking a shower and when he came out he found the three of them asleep. He carefully picked up Keira and took her across the hall and put her to bed and got a blanket and covered Kim and Joey up. He sat down beside them wondering what Craig was planning on pulling. The last thing he asked himself before he fell asleep was, "¿Craig lo que usted planean? ¿Qué causó que usted cambiara de la manera que usted era la semana pasada? ¿Cómo ata mi esposa en sus sentimientos de la cólera y la destrucción?"  
  
The next day at the station Kim was never alone, either Jimmy or Bobby were always with her. Craig was smart not to try anything with them around, but simply bided his time till she was left alone. He knew they couldn't be with her all the time and waited patiently for the opportunity to cause more havoc with everyone.  
  
Later on that evening there was a fire in a high rise building with injured people both inside and outside the structure. As the remaining few people left the building, there was a large explosion that ripped through it, raining down shards of glass and pieces of brick down onto those below. Kim and Bobby were leading a group of people away from the building when the explosion hit. A large piece of brick from about six stories up struck the back of Bobby's helmet, knocking him unconscious. One of the firefighters had seen what had happened and headed over towards the fallen medic to see if he was ok.  
  
Kim had taken the group they were leading over towards the ambulance when she looked back and didn't see Bobby. She finally saw him on the ground, with a couple firefighters rushing over towards him. She immediately grabbed a c-collar and backboard and rushed back to her fallen partner. After getting the collar around his neck the firefighters helped her get him on the board and carried him back over towards the bus. Doc appeared out of no where and asked what had happened. As she relayed what had occurred, he climbed in and had one of the firefighters drive.  
  
Doc monitored vitals while she began to clean the wounds he'd gotten from the glass that had hit him after the blow to the head had knocked him out. She was forcing herself to stay calm but inside she was going crazy. When they arrived, he was still unconscious and Doc called off vitals as they brought him through the doors of the ER. Much to her dismay, she and Doc had to go back and help out at the fire, even though she wanted to stay with Bobby. Doc saw the panicked look on her face when he told her they had to go back and said,  
  
"Come on Kim, there's nothing we can do but wait. As soon as we are done I'll bring you back. Ok?"  
  
She reluctantly left, casting one last worried glance towards Bobby before following Doc back outside. Luckily all of the injuries were minor, just scratches and smoke inhalation. When she arrived back in the ER, Bobby was getting a CT Scan done so all she could do was wait in the waiting room. Alex rushed in a short time later looking for her, finding her pacing the waiting room floor for any news of his condition.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
El todo es va a estar bien a bebé. Calme apenas. Usted es seguro. Yo no permitiré que nada acontecerá más a usted. El no lo lastimará ya. Relájese apenas y el todo será fino.  
  
Everything's going to be ok baby. Just calm down. You're safe. I won't let anything else happen to you. He won't hurt you anymore. Just relax and everything will be fine.  
  
¡Eso maldice a hijo de una ramera! El piensa aún acerca de lastimarla otra vez yo personalmente lo mataré yo mismo. ¡El piensa aún acerca de hacer algo a ella con mí alrededor de y patearé su como como debe tener ayer!  
  
That damn son of a bitch! He even thinks about hurting her again I'll personally kill him myself. He even thinks about doing anything to her with me around and I'll kick his ass like I should have yesterday!  
  
¿Craig lo que usted planean? ¿Qué causó que usted cambiara de la manera que usted era la semana pasada? ¿Cómo ata mi esposa en sus sentimientos de la cólera y la destrucción?  
  
Craig what are you planning? What caused you to change from the way you were last week? How does my wife tie into your feelings of anger and destruction? 


	44. I Count the Minutes

A short time later the doctor came over to where Kim and Alex where to let them know how Bobby was doing.  
  
"Your partner is still unconscious from the blow to the head he received. The CT scan did show some swelling of the brain, which is to be expected after the head trauma that he sustained. He will have to stay in the hospital till he regains consciousness so the swelling in his brain can be monitored." The doctor said to Kim, as she stood shaking next to Alex.  
  
"Can we go see him?" Kim asked in a weak voice.  
  
"Sure, but only one person at a time though," the doctor replied before he left.  
  
Kim turned to Alex and said, "I've got to call his mother and tell her what happened, you go first.", before she turned to go make the dreaded call to Bobby's mother telling her son had been hurt.  
  
Alex caught up to her and said, "I'll call for you. Go be with your husband.", giving her hand a reassuring squeeze that everything would be ok.  
  
"Thanks," Kim replied softly, making her way towards the room he was in.  
  
He lay resting peacefully when Kim entered; she was trembling a bit as she sat down next to his bed. She took her right hand and gently caressed his cheek, wishing he would respond to her being there. She sat and held his left hand as she softly began to speak to him, hoping that what she'd heard was true that people who are unconscious can still hear things going on around them.  
  
"Please wake up soon. The kids need you. I need you. I'm not leaving here until you wake up, regardless of how long it takes. I wish I could have warned you somehow to look out, but I didn't know. It's a good thing you had a helmet on or things could have been a lot worse. Your mom is on her way; Alex went to call her. Everyone at the station is probably worried sick about you too. Whenever you wake up I'll be here waiting." She said softly, feeling tears forming in her eyes as she gently placed a kiss on his forehead.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Alex led Bobby's mother down the corridor towards his room. Kim heard them talking as they walked and said whispered softly to him in Spanish, Su mamá para aquí verlo. Siempre que usted se despierta, yo aquí estaré esperando."  
  
She heard a soft knock on the door and turned and saw his mother and Alex in the doorway. Tears had begun to flow down his mother's cheeks at the sight of her son unconscious. Kim walked over to her mother-in-law and gave her a gentle hug and told her she'd be just outside the door if she needed anything. She heard his mother begin to speak in Spanish to him and thought back to Keira and Joey who were with her mother. Doc came by and told her she could take time off to stay with him in the hospital till he woke up, which seemed strange especially since she was just coming off maternity leave, but greatly appreciated the fact she could stay with him. Twenty minutes later Bobby's mother emerged from the room and began talking to Kim.  
  
"Are you staying here with him till he regains consciousness?" she asked softly.  
  
Kim nodded her head in response and said; "I'm staying till he comes to, no matter how long it takes."  
  
"Do you want me to look after the kids for you while your here?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," she replied as they headed towards the waiting room.  
  
Kim calls her mother to let her know what had happened and that Bobby's mom had volunteered to look after the kids while she was gone, her mom said that was fine and would have them ready when they stopped by. Alex stayed with Bobby while Kim and his mother went to pick up Joey and Keira. When they got to her mother's home she began to talk to Joey, trying to explain what had happened and her mother began to talk to Bobby's mother. Joey gave his mother a reassuring hug that everything would be fine and headed over to where his grandmother was talking to Bobby's mother. Kim headed in to get Keira's stuff together and when she was done picked her up and headed out to where everyone else was. Bobby's mother felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes as Kim brought out her granddaughter. You could see the likeness of her father in her, which made her think back to her son in the hospital. After getting her fastened into the carrier she'd put into his mother's car she said goodbye to them and promised she'd call if his condition changed any.  
  
After they had left she walked back to the station and changed into her street clothes and gathered his things and took them with her and headed for his car to head back to the hospital. On her way out everyone was asking how he was doing and she told them what the doctor had told her. Jimmy had been outside and headed in her direction as she was about ready to leave.  
  
"How's Bobby doing?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Still unconscious. I'm getting ready to head back down there to stay till he wakes up." Kim replied, looking towards the hospital.  
  
Jimmy gave her a reassuring hug and said, "He'll be fine, don't worry." And turned to head towards his apartment.  
  
After arriving back at the hospital to relieve Alex, she saw her sitting out in the waiting room, immediately fearing something had happened. She walked over to where she sat and put her hand on her friend's shoulder. Alex turned her head and saw Kim standing next to her with a worried expression on her face.  
  
"Don't worry, he's fine. They took him down for another CT Scan." Alex said, as Kim sat down beside her.  
  
After breathing a sigh of relief Kim asked, "Has he woke up yet?"  
  
Alex shook her head sadly and said, "No."  
  
Several minutes later one of the nurses came over to let them know that he's back up from the scan. After Alex had left, Kim headed back to his room to begin her vigil with him until he regained consciousness. As she entered, he looked the same as he had before but the nurse had given her encouraging news, that the swelling had gone down some, which was a step in the right direction. She sat down in the chair beside the bed and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin upon her knees hoping he'd wake up soon.  
  
Hours slowly ticked by as she sat for what had to have been the longest most nerve wracking night of her life. She only left to get some coffee or a soda to help keep her awake. Eventually as time went on the caffeine in the soda and coffee no longer had the same effect on her and she felt herself getting tired. As the morning sun rose into the sky, she stood by the window looking out at the skyline around her. A heavy sigh escaped her but before she went to turn around, she could have swore she heard someone faintly call her name. She spun around to see if Bobby had woken up but he hadn't moved. She headed back over and sat on the right side of his bed taking his hand into hers.  
  
His senses had started to come back to him and when he felt her gentle touch as she held his hand he finally opened his eyes. She'd heard footsteps outside the room and had turned away for a brief moment when she felt him squeeze her hand. When her attention was once again focused on him, she found him awake and a huge wave of relief swept over her.  
  
"How do you feel?" she asked quietly, still sitting next to him on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Pretty good except for a monster headache," he replied, managing a small smile.  
  
Kim laughed and said, "Seeing as how you got hit in the head I think that's to be expected. Do you remember what happened?"  
  
"I remember you and I getting people away from the burning building when there was a explosion, but other than that I don't remember anything where I blacked out." He replied.  
  
Just then the doctor entered, smiling when he saw his patient finally awake and said, "Awake at last, I see."  
  
Kim stepped out for a moment while the doctor checked him over and called his mother to let her know the good news. When Kim got off the phone with his mother, she looked up and saw Alex getting off the elevator. Alex saw Kim beaming and knew that he'd woken up.  
  
"He's awake isn't he." Alex asked smiling, taking a seat next to Kim who was putting her cell phone back in her pocket.  
  
"Yes, he's awake." Kim replied, breathing a sigh of relief.  
  
"When did he come back?" Alex asked.  
  
"Just this morning. I'd say no more than about five minutes ago." Kim replied, seeing the doctor headed towards them.  
  
They were going to take him down for another CT scan to see if all the swelling had gone down and that he'd be back shortly. About ten minutes after they'd taken him down, Bobby's mother arrived with Joey and Keira. She asked Kim how he was doing and filled her in on what was going on. When he was brought back up to the floor, one of the nurses came over to let them know he was back and Kim took Keira from her so she could go see her son.  
  
Fifteen minutes later she emerged from the room and headed back to where Alex, Joey, Kim and Keira were.  
  
"You don't know how much I appreciate you staying with him through all this." His mother said, smiling at her granddaughter cooing.  
  
"I would have stayed even if we weren't together. I wouldn't have been able to rest, not knowing whether or not he was going to be ok." Kim replied, bouncing Keira on her knee gently.  
  
"You should go home and rest now that he's awake," she suggested.  
  
"I will later, I feel fine." Kim responded, fighting the effects of exhaustion that were starting to set in.  
  
Alex stood up and gave Kim a hug before leaving to head to work. Both Kim and his mother headed towards his room so he could see the kids for a bit. His mother went in first and said something to him briefly in Spanish but she didn't pay much attention to it because she was telling Joey what do expect. When she left, she headed back towards the waiting room and Kim walked in with Joey and Keira.  
  
A huge smile crossed his face when he saw them come through the door. Keira had started cooing when she saw her father which made everyone laugh and Joey was relieved to see that Bobby was ok. Ten minutes later, Joey headed down to get a soda and Bobby looked over at Kim and saw her fighting exhaustion, it was evident that soon she would need some sleep.  
  
"Why don't you go home and rest for a bit." He suggested quietly.  
  
"I feel fine, I'll sleep later." She replied.  
  
"You certainly don't look it. Please, you've got to get some rest. Don't make me sign out AMA just to make sure you'll be ok." He said, hoping to reason with her.  
  
Spanish Translation:  
  
Su mamá para aquí verlo. Siempre que usted se despierta, yo aquí estaré esperando.  
  
Your mom's here to see you. Whenever you wake up, I'll be here waiting. 


	45. Make me Believe

Kim's eyes grew wide as she listened to what he said, getting slightly irritated that he was pushing the subject.  
  
"Don't even think about signing out AMA." She began to say.  
  
"The only way I won't is if you do as I said and go home and rest. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so there is nothing to worry about." He replied, cutting her off.  
  
She drew in a sharp breath and reluctantly said, "Fine, but I'm coming back tonight."  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief and whispered silently, "Dé gracias a dios que ella escuchó finalmente.", when he heard her agree to going home to get some rest.  
  
"Let my mom watch the kids again for you, I'm sure she'd love to have them over again." He said as Keira sat cooing on his chest.  
  
To tired to argue with him, she agreed and went out to talk to his mother about watching the kids. His mother looked up, seeing Kim heading in her direction and put the magazine down she was reading, realizing her son must have gotten through to her.  
  
"Do you need me to watch the kids for you?" she asked softly.  
  
"If you wouldn't mind to." She replied, glancing at the clock on the wall.  
  
"I'd love to have them over again. Do I want to know what he said to finally convince you to get some rest?" his mother asked.  
  
"You'd be ready to wring his neck if I told you." she replied, managing a small smile before heading back to go get Joey and Keira. Both Joey and Bobby were gently tickling Keira causing her to smile and coo even louder which made Kim laugh when she walked in the room.  
  
"Poor thing! Being attacked by all these mean men, come here baby," Kim said sympathetically scooping Keira up from the attacking fingers of Joey and Bobby.  
  
"We aren't mean mom!" Joey said laughing.  
  
"I know sweetie, I was just messing with you two." She said smiling, seeing the look Bobby shot her.  
  
"Is my mom going to watch these two heathens while you go home and get some rest?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yeah." She replied smiling, seeing the look Joey shot Bobby when he called him a heathen.  
  
"I'm not a heathen!" Joey said, defending himself.  
  
"Then what are you?" Bobby asked smirking.  
  
"Uh, I dunno." Joey replied grinning.  
  
"Well you're a heathen till you find out what you are." Bobby said laughing, tickling Joey.  
  
"Ok, you two break it up." Kim said giggling as Keira began to fidget in her arms.  
  
"Aww come on mom he started it!" Joey said laughing when Bobby stopped tickling him.  
  
"No, he started it," Bobby replied smirking at the look Kim shot him.  
  
"What am I the referee here?" Kim asked laughing.  
  
"Yeah mom, you are." Bobby said jokingly.  
  
Kim shot a look of surprise at Bobby and said with mock sternness, "Entonces usted mejor no sería un chico malo ni usted será castigado."  
  
Bobby began to laugh, blushing at what she said and replied, "¿Qué es el castigo si yo no paro miel?"  
  
Kim quirked an eyebrow at him and said teasingly, "¿Quiere realmente usted saber?"  
  
Joey sat looking at them with a totally lost look on his face and said, "What did you two just say?"  
  
"I'll tell you later bud. That ok?" Bobby said, seeing the look of embarrassment cross Kim's face.  
  
"Usted dice él que usted está en el señor de la casa de perro." Kim said in his ear.  
  
Joey gave his mom a weird look and said to Bobby, "That's cool."  
  
"I'll see you later tonight." Kim said, gently kissing him goodbye.  
  
"El dulce sueña a novio. Véalo cuando usted vuelve." He whispered back, gently kissing her again before she left.  
  
Before she left, she smiled over her shoulder at him and headed out to where his mother was carrying Keira and Joey following close beside her. After his mother left, she got back into his car and headed home for some much-needed sleep. When she pulled up she locked the doors to the car and headed towards the complex. She never noticed the black car that had followed her from the hospital all the way to her complex that was parked right behind her, but due to the darkly tinted windows couldn't see who was in the vehicle. Craig sat in his car, watching her as she made her way up the stairs in front of the building, heading towards her apartment. An evil laugh escaped his mouth as he thought of the plans he had in store for her and eventually drove off.  
  
As she walked into their apartment, she locked the doors behind her and headed to change. Not to long after she lay down she was sound asleep, exhausted from the events of the night before, but relieved that Bobby had woken up. She slept on peacefully, not knowing that Craig had followed her all the way from the hospital to her home. As darkness fell upon the city she was awakened when the sounds of sirens went screaming past her complex, waking her up suddenly. She looked over at the alarm clock and got up, having slept for about ten hours she felt much better and headed off for a quick shower and something to eat. She fixed a bagel and a cup of coffee while her hair air dried a bit and ate something before she went back to blow dry her hair.  
  
She stopped by the station to update everyone on how Bobby was doing and let Doc know she'd be back to work in a couple of days. Sure enough everyone was worried about Bobby but was relieved to hear he'd woken up, everyone but Craig that is. After spending some time at the station she headed back to the hospital to be with him. When she arrived he was asleep, and she took a seat in the chair next to his bed, watching him sleep peacefully. Fifteen minutes after she'd arrived he woke up, finding her sitting by the bed.  
  
"You look much better than you did earlier," he commented, remembering how she'd looked earlier in the day.  
  
"Isn't it amazing what a little sleep can do to a person," she replied laughing; "Any idea when you can come home?"  
  
"Depending on how things go, it looks like maybe in a couple of days." He responded; "How's everyone down at the station doing?"  
  
"Worried about how you are doing mostly. Things seemed pretty slow when I stopped by before I came in," she replied, sighing softly.  
  
"Everyone but Craig right?" he asked, seeing her actions change slightly at the mention of his name.  
  
"Yeah. I swear I wish I knew what his problem is." She said, feeling anger building at the mention of Craig's name.  
  
"Don't let him get to you," Bobby said quietly, motioning for her to sit beside him.  
  
She made her way over and sat down beside him when he put his arm around her and said, "He's not worth the trouble of getting all worked up over. Regardless of what we do he isn't going to change. He's too pigheaded for that."  
  
Kim sighed softly and looked over at him and replied in a whisper, "I know. I'd just like to know what his deal is."  
  
"I'm right there with you on that one," Bobby replied, tenderly kissing her on the forehead.  
  
They sat and talked for ten minutes about all kinds of stuff, mostly Keira though until they heard a knock at the door and saw Alex, Jimmy, Doc and Carlos standing there. The four came in and stood around the bed talking until Bobby brought up Craig.  
  
"What's the latest with the newbie?" he asked Doc.  
  
"His ass is in deep shit because he took off in the middle of a shift and we haven't seen him since." Doc replied bitterly.  
  
"Do you need me to fill in for the remainder of his shift?" Kim asked.  
  
"If you feel up to it, I'd really appreciate it." Doc replied.  
  
Kim looked over at Bobby when he began to say, "Go. I'll be fine, they need you."  
  
She placed a gentle kiss on his lips and stood up, grabbing her purse and following her four colleagues out of the room, glancing over her shoulder at him as she left. When she got out to the parking lot, Jimmy followed her and said, "I'm coming with you since we don't know where the creep is.", heading around to the passenger side of the car. They drove to back to her place so she could get her stuff for work and quickly headed to the station. As they drove back to the station, Jimmy noticed a black car following them but didn't pay much attention to it. When they arrived she rushed upstairs and changed, putting her bag in her locker and grabbed her stethoscope, which hung on a hook and closed the door. As she headed downstairs she pulled her hair back and saw Alex waiting on her.  
  
"Am I with you?" she asked.  
  
"Yep," Alex replied as they climbed into the ambulance.  
  
"When did Craig disappear?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"After we returned from a call around five." Alex replied; "He was supposed to pull a double with me tonight, but I guess that's off now."  
  
"I'll pull the double with you tonight, if you still want to do it." Kim said, looking over at her partner.  
  
"Are you sure you feel up to it?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'm fine. I had ten hours of sleep before I went to see Bobby again so I'm in good shape." She replied as a call came through.  
  
They arrived shortly at a convenience store that had been robbed. There were at least four victims, who had been shot by the robbers when they had come through the door. Alex radioed for additional ambulances while Kim began to triage the wounded. Two of the four were critical, with multiple gunshots to the chest, the other two had minor wounds from a ricocheting bullet. Several minutes later Doc and Carlos arrived and took over the second critical patient from Alex so she could go help Kim. Two more ambulances arrived and began working on the two with minor wounds when Kim and Alex got their patient stabilized and got him loaded in the bus.  
  
Alex rushed to the front and drove, while Kim monitored the mans condition in the back and phoned the ER to let them know what they were bringing in. A block before the arrived at the hospital the mans blood pressure began dropping. When they arrived and started unloading him he went into cardiac arrest; they worked on getting him back as they raced into the ER, heading into the first trauma suite. Once the man was stabilized again, they transferred him off the gurney and headed back out of the room and let the doctors take over.  
  
They went and cleaned up and worked on finishing the run sheet and cleaning up the back of the bus. Doc and Carlos arrived a short time later with the other critical patient as well as the other two containing the victims with minor gunshot wounds. After having cleaned up their bus, Kim said to Alex, "I'm gonna go check on Bobby real quick before we leave."  
  
"You'd better not go AWOL on me," Alex said jokingly.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it." Kim replied laughing, turning to head back into the hospital.  
  
She passed Doc and Carlos coming out and said, "I'm running Craig's double with Alex tonight, just to let you know."  
  
"Do you feel up to it?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Do you need me to come in tomorrow incase Craig doesn't show?" she asked.  
  
"That would be great. I really appreciate you helping out on such short notice." Doc replied smiling.  
  
"Anytime," Kim replied, making her way towards the elevators.  
  
After a brief elevator ride to the floor Bobby was on she headed towards his room. When she walked in he smiled up at her and asked, "What did you all bring in?"  
  
"Crashing GSW from a robbery." She replied, sitting next to him.  
  
"Those are always fun to deal with," he responded, chuckling slightly.  
  
"Oh you know it," She replied smiling; "I thought I'd let you know I'm pulling Craig's double with Alex tonight."  
  
"No rest for the wicked eh?" he asked laughing.  
  
"As always," she replied giggling.  
  
Just then Alex radioed to her that they had a call and she stood up and kissed him goodbye before heading out to the stairwell.  
  
"Be careful out there," he called to her as she was leaving.  
  
"I will. You focus on getting out of here so you can come home," she replied winking back at him and headed for the stairs.  
  
He watched her leave and wished he were back at work. He didn't particularly care about being stuck in a hospital except for the fact that he had nothing to do. Now he had an idea of how Kim had felt after Matty had beaten her. Granted she wasn't in the hospital but the way he helped her do everything was pretty much the same thing. He'd rather be working and be home taking care of Keira, Kim and Joey instead of being here.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
Dé gracias a dios que ella escuchó finalmente.  
  
Thank god she finally listened.  
  
Entonces usted mejor no sería un chico malo ni usted será castigado.  
  
Then you'd better not be a bad boy or you'll be punished.  
  
¿Qué es el castigo si yo no paro miel?  
  
What's the punishment if I don't stop honey?  
  
¿Quiere realmente usted saber?  
  
Do you really want to know?  
  
Usted dice él que usted está en el señor de la casa de perro.  
  
You tell him that you're in the dog house mister.  
  
El dulce sueña a novio. Véalo cuando usted vuelve.  
  
Sweet dreams sweetheart. See you when you get back. 


	46. Faceless

When they arrived at the address dispatch had given them, they noticed the apartment the call had supposedly come from didn't exist. Kim radioed back to dispatch confirming the address and letting them know there wasn't an apartment with that number. There was no call back number left so the call became unfounded. While Kim was talking to dispatch, Alex headed back down the hall towards the stairs. Kim began to follow her but didn't hear the door to one of the apartments open.  
  
All of a sudden a hand was clamped over her mouth and she felt herself being pulled back into one of the apartments. She tried to scream but all that escaped her mouth were garbled sounds. As she was forced into one of the apartments, the clasp to the necklace Bobby had given her when they started dating broke and fell to the ground. Alex had gotten to the bottom of the stairs and didn't see Kim behind her. Nervousness built up inside of her as she retraced her steps to the point where she and Kim had last been together. When she returned to the floor, she looked down the corridor at first not noticing anything out of the ordinary. Then she saw something on the ground and moved towards it.  
  
When she knelt down and removed the object from the floor she picked up the necklace and held it in her hand and stood up, looking at it. Identifying it as the one Bobby had given to Kim. Alex immediately called out to Kim, hoping she was near by and would respond. Kim heard Alex calling out to her and tried to respond but the gag in her mouth prevented anything audible from escaping her lips. Alex tried to pull herself together as she radioed for police backup, her voice shaking as she spoke.  
  
The room went black when a blindfold was tied over her eyes, tightly against her head. She felt her wrists and ankles being bound together with ropes and felt someone pick her up and lay her flat on her back and felt two more sets of hands holding down her ankles and wrists as additional ropes secured her to whatever she'd just been placed upon. She was completely helpless and at the mercy of whoever had her. A hand removed the gag from her mouth momentarily and she wasted no time in screaming for Alex, praying she be near by.  
  
Alex sat at the end of the hall holding Kim's necklace in her hands as tears fell from her eyes. She heard Kim scream her name and then an eerie silence. You could have heard a pin drop in the corridor. Alex tried to locate the apartment that Kim's screams had come from when Sully and Ty arrived.  
  
They slowly climbed the stairs and found Alex hysterical, searching for Kim.  
  
"Alex!" Ty called out, just loud enough for her to hear.  
  
She turned her head and saw them at the end of the hall, motioning for her to come to where they were. She headed over to where they were, obviously shaken up about Kim.  
  
"Alex, what happened?" Ty asked gently.  
  
Alex shakily recounted what had happened when they got here and told them about hearing Kim's screams when she'd come back up.  
  
Ty looked at Sully and said, "Take her outside. If I need you I'll radio for you."  
  
"Ty, that's not a good idea. We don't know who has her or if they're armed." Sully replied.  
  
"Then I'll take my chances, just do it." Ty replied.  
  
Sully reluctantly agreed and helped Alex up and took her outside to the bus and tried to calm her down.  
  
Meanwhile back inside the apartment, the person who had abducted Kim finally spoke.  
  
"Too bad that bitch of a partner you're with called the cops. Because you and I were going to have some fun." The man sneered coldly.  
  
As the sound of the man's voice registered with her brain, fury began to course through her. As she put a face to the voice she started to struggle against the ropes, which wouldn't give since there was no slack in the rope at all. A pair of hands began to untuck her uniform top from her pants and slowly began to undo the buttons of the top. She started thrashing around as much as she could but with no slack in the rope she couldn't move very far. Bile rose in her throat as Craig ran his hand over her chest and hips, resting it against her stomach underneath her undershirt which made her skin begin to crawl. He then removed the gag from her mouth once again and forcefully began kissing her again. When he'd stopped for air she began to scream for help once more before the gag was roughly shoved back into her mouth. Ty heard her screams for help and followed the sound till he was outside the apartment door.  
  
Craig forcefully and roughly shoved the gag back into her mouth and backhanded her across the face several times, busting her lip in the process. Ty had begun to pound on the door, not getting an answer. When no one answered he kicked in the door and pulled out his flashlight since there were no lights on. Craig disappeared out the window and down the fire escape with his two accomplices and fled into the night when Ty kicked in the door. Ty slowly and carefully made his way through the apartment, gun drawn, checking each of the rooms. When he checked one of the bedrooms he found Kim bound, gagged and bleeding from where Craig had hit her. He holstered his gun and rushed towards her trembling body. He put his hand on her shoulder when he reached her side but she assumed it was Craig and began to thrash around as much as her restraints would allow, not knowing it was Ty. He quickly tried to calm her down before she hurt herself any further.  
  
"Kim! It's me Ty, calm down so I can help you." he said softly.  
  
She recognized his voice and lie still so he could untie her. After freeing her arms and legs he helped her sit up and took the gag and blindfold off her head. He slowly helped her to stand after she'd refastened her uniform top that Craig had undone and allowed Ty to help her from the apartment.  
  
Sully was standing in front of Alex as she sat on the back of the rig, trying to calm her down, when he saw Ty helping Kim from the building. He looked at Alex and said quietly, "Alex relax, Ty found Kim. She's ok."  
  
Alex looked up seeing Kim walking alongside Ty, still trembling after everything she'd endured. Kim looked at the tears of guilt flowing down Alex's face and began to sob as Ty wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Doc and Carlos pulled up and saw him helping Kim back over towards Sully and Alex. They rushed over to where the two women were and saw the rope burns on Kim's wrists and bruises from where she'd been hit and knew something had gone horribly wrong.  
  
"Alex, what happened?" Carlos asked softly.  
  
She pulled herself together long enough to tell them what had happened and began crying once again when Ty described how he'd found Kim in the apartment.  
  
After they arrived back at the hospital, Kim went up to Bobby's room to be alone for a bit, since he would more than likely be asleep since it was the wee hours of the morning. Ty comforted Alex in one of the empty exam rooms, trying to get her to see that none of what happened was her fault. Kim curled up in the chair next to his bed and wished he were awake so she could talk to him. Tears silently began to slip down her face as she thought of what happened as she fell asleep.  
  
Later on, Alex came up to Bobby's room to get Kim since their double was almost over. She whispered an inaudible 'I'm sorry' to Bobby and gently woke Kim up. She placed her hand on Kim's shoulder and said quietly, "Kim, wake up. We've got to take the bus back."  
  
Kim jumped at Alex's touch, but didn't scream. She looked at Alex's apologetic face and stood up slowly. She let out a heavy sigh and reluctantly left his room and headed with Alex to the rig. The two drove in silence until Kim looked over at Alex and said, "None of this is your fault Alex, it couldn't have been prevented."  
  
"If I would have waited for you instead of taking off I could have tried to help you and prevent this from happening to you," she replied, tears forming in her eyes again; "Now Bobby will probably be angry with me for not looking out for you."  
  
"No! Alex, he won't blame you for this!" Kim said trying to reassure Alex that he wouldn't blame any of this on her.  
  
She began to rub her stiff neck when she noticed the necklace Bobby gave to her was missing. Alex looked over at the horrified expression on her face and said, "What's wrong?"  
  
"My necklace. The one Bobby gave to me. It's gone!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Calm down, your necklace is right here. I found it in the hall of the apartment complex at the unfounded call." Alex said, hoping to calm her down when she picked it up and handed it to her.  
  
A look of relief passed over Kim's face as she took the necklace from Alex and fastened it around her neck.  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, who did this to you?" Alex asked softly, hoping she didn't upset Kim.  
  
"It was Craig," she replied, clenching her hands into fists just thinking about earlier.  
  
When they arrived back at the station, they got started on inventory and straightened up the bus quickly and headed to change and get their stuff. Once they'd finished they changed clothes and headed home. When Kim made her way towards Bobby's car, she found Jimmy waiting on her. She took a deep breath and headed towards him. Luckily it was still dark so that helped hide her wounds but Jimmy sensed something wasn't right. He'd noticed she was hardly looking up at all. When she got closer to him he took his hand and placed it under her chin and raised her head till she was looking into his eyes. He drew in a sharp breath as he looked at her bruised face.  
  
She turned her head away, closing her eyes to fight back the tears that were forming when she heard him ask, "What happened?"  
  
"Craig did this," she replied almost inaudibly as she climbed into the drivers seat of Bobby's car.  
  
She saw the anger in Jimmy's eyes as he climbed into the passenger seat. He saw the tears in her eyes as she began to recount what had happened as she drove him to his apartment.  
  
"If you need anything, please call me." He said, concern hinting in his voice before he got out.  
  
She nodded her head weakly in response and drove off shortly after he'd walked through the door of his apartment complex. When she got home she didn't even lock the front door to her apartment her mind was so fried. She changed clothes and collapsed into bed and eventually cried herself to sleep.  
  
The next morning Bobby woke up to the sound of the phone ringing in his room. When he answered he heard his mother on the other end of the phone. He could hear Joey playing with Keira in the background which brought a smile to his face as he spoke with his mother. Thirty minutes later the doctor walked in and he told his mother he'd call her back shortly. After being checked over by the doctor he was told, "Since you're not having any complications from the blow to the head you received, you can go home this morning. Although I wouldn't recommend you start back to work till next week though."  
  
That was the best news Bobby had heard since he'd been admitted. He quickly picked up the phone and was about ready to call Kim, when he remembered she'd pulled a double with Alex and figured she would be asleep. He decided to surprise her by coming home and being there when she woke up and called his mother back to let her know he was being released.  
  
An hour later he took a cab back to their apartment. When he got home he headed up to the floor the apartment was on and made his way down the corridor. When he reached the front door and turned the knob, he was alarmed to find the door unlocked and immediately became worried since the door was normally not unlocked. 


	47. Give me Strength

After slipping through the door, he locked it behind him and headed towards the bedroom where Kim was still fast asleep. He noticed the light flashing on the answering machine and began to listen to the messages that were recorded. The first one was from Doc, telling Kim she didn't have to come in that afternoon after the rough double she'd pulled with Alex. The next one though was from Craig, and his stomach began to tighten as he listened to his sick and twisted words.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, wasn't that great? Too bad your partner ruined our good time.. Maybe next time we won't be so rudely interrupted by arrogant cops running to frightened medics over nothing. Trust me, next time will be even better than this morning. Later Sexy."  
  
"¿Quién era el infierno eso?" Bobby asked himself confused, rewinding the message and listening to it again. {Who the hell was that?}  
  
Once he recognized the voice, anger started to build and he said bitterly under his breath, "¿Acerca de qué el infierno habla él? ¿Qué arruinó Alex y quién son la policía arrogante? ¿Qué clase del chiste torcido enfermo es esto?" {What the hell is he talking about? What did Alex ruin and who is the arrogant cop? What kind of sick twisted joke is this?}  
  
The twisted words were burned into his memory as he headed in to check on Kim. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at her, sleeping peacefully. Her hair was covering her face, hiding the bruises from the incident that morning until he brushed it back from her face, gasping at what he saw. He lightly traced the bruises on her face, feeling fury like he never had experienced before. Fury for letting himself get hurt on the job and not being able to protect her from the monster who did this to her that morning.  
  
"¡Próximo tiempo yo veo Craig patético cobarde como, yo buscaré la Venganza en él! ¡La venganza para no patear su maldice como el primer tiempo que él la lastimó y para él tratar brutalmentela aprecia esto!" He whispered vehemently, tracing the rope burn on Kim's wrist. {Next time I see Craig's pathetic cowardly ass, I will seek vengeance on him! Vengeance for not kicking his damn ass the first time he hurt her and for him brutalizing her like this!}  
  
He got up and went to call Alex to find out what had happened during their double that morning. When Alex picked up the phone as it rang a sense of dread swept through her when she heard Bobby's voice on the other end. She took a deep breath and began to tell him what had happened during the morning hours, forcing herself not to fall apart. She still felt responsible for what had happened to Kim and he heard the despair in her voice as she began to describe how Ty had found her, feeling tears starting to make their way down her face once more.  
  
He could hardly believe what he was hearing Alex say. Hearing the hurt in her voice as she forced herself on. He sat in the living room on the couch talking to her, with a death grip on one of the pillows on the sofa. When she began to describe how Ty found her tears were falling from his eyes, picturing what Alex was telling him in his mind. He knew Alex probably blamed herself for what happened.  
  
"Alex, I don't want you blaming yourself for what happened earlier." He managed to get out, his voice carrying mixed emotions.  
  
"I should have waited. There might have been something I could have done to prevent all of this," she said sadly.  
  
"Listen to me Alex. None of this is your fault. If you're afraid I'll put the blame on you for this, I'm not. I know that you wouldn't intentionally let her get hurt. Things happen that we can't control and this is one of them. Believe me Craig will pay for what he did to her." Bobby said, hoping to make her feel better; "Get some sleep, you've had a rough night and you've got to work later. Trust me everything will be ok."  
  
"Ok, I'll talk to you later," she replied softly; "I'm sorry all this happened.", and then hung up the phone to go to bed.  
  
After getting off the phone with Alex and hearing how upset she was this had happened, he headed in to wake up Kim.  
  
While she slept she felt a hand on her shoulder. She immediately began to panic and followed the first instinct that entered her brain, the instinct to get away. She slowly began to slink away from the hand that was on her shoulder; not knowing it was Bobby. She began to whisper softly, almost pleadingly, "Please. stop." over and over again.  
  
"Kimmy it's me. I'm not going to hurt you." she heard him say, his voice cracking with emotion at seeing her like this.  
  
"Bobby?" she asked confused as her eyes fluttered open; "When did you get out of the hospital?"  
  
"This morning, I was going to call you but I figured you were asleep." He replied softly, taking her in his arms; "What happened last night after you left?"  
  
She pulled herself together and began to explain what had happened with the unfounded call. When she got to the parts of what she went through at the hands of Craig, she could hardly talk as tears fell from her eyes, reliving the events as she tried to tell him what had happened, shaking uncontrollably in his arms as she spoke. It killed him to see her like this and he softly whispered to her, "Ssssh, está bien. Estoy aquí ahora." {Ssssh, it's ok. I'm here now.}, tightening his arms around her, giving her the courage to continue on with what had happened. He whispered softly, "Está bien." {It's ok.}, over and over, stroking her hair as she rested her head against his chest when she'd finished speaking, still crying as she thought of earlier.  
  
When he went to move to lay her down after she'd started to drift to sleep, when he heard her say with a pleading tone in her voice, "Por favor no vaya. Yo no quiero ser sólo después que el todo que se acontece." {Please don't go. I don't want to be alone after everything that's happened.}  
  
"Yo no voy dondequiera novio. Apenas descanso, yo estaré aquí con usted cuando usted se despierta." He replied softly, laying down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. {I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. Just rest, I'll be here with you when you wake up.}  
  
He wanted to call Jimmy and let him hear the message that Craig had left on the answering machine, but he wasn't going to break his promise to her that when she woke up he'd be right beside her. She'd been through too much for him to ever do that to her, especially now. Jimmy could wait till she woke up later, but he didn't want her hearing the tape. It would freak her out even more to hear that tape after what she'd been through at Craig's hands anyway.  
  
Five hours later Bobby had been lightly sleeping when he heard the phone ring. Luckily the cordless was sitting next to the table so all he had to do was reach over and get it.  
  
"Hello," he said quietly into the phone, not wanting to disturb Kim who was still asleep.  
  
"Bobby! What are you doing out of the hospital?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"I was released this morning." He replied, sitting up beside Kim.  
  
"Then I take it you saw what happened to Kim then?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"That and listened to a message that asshole left on the answering machine." Bobby replied bitterly.  
  
"He called there!" Jimmy ground out.  
  
"Oh yes, and left a sick and twisted message, which I hope Kim didn't listen to when she came in, she's been through enough without hearing that." He whispered angrily.  
  
"How's Kim holding up after all this?" he asked.  
  
"She's scared. After I woke her up after listening to that message and talking to Alex, she pulled up the courage to try and tell me what happened but almost couldn't finish. When she went back to sleep I was going to get up to call you but she pleaded 'Please don't go. I don't want to be alone after everything that's happened.' It's probably going to take her a while to get over this." He replied, looking over at her.  
  
"Craig better not show up at the firehouse this afternoon because if he does his ass in for it." Jimmy said bitterly.  
  
"He will pay for what he did to her, I'll see to it that he does. I should have kicked his ass the first day he was back for what he said about her, but this means all out war." Bobby said angrily.  
  
"I'm right there with you. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask, because I want to pound this freaks ass so bad it's not even funny." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Do you want to stop by before you go to work and hear the tape?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll probably end up taking everything out on the punching bag at the house but I want to hear what that asswipe said." Jimmy said in response.  
  
"What time will you be leaving that way I can tell Kim so she doesn't think I'm leaving. I don't want her to start panicking just because I went to the door." He asked.  
  
"I'll leave in an hour to stop by, I'll call before I get there though." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Sounds good, see you in an hour." Bobby said before hanging up the phone.  
  
Jimmy called back when he was in front of their apartment complex to let Bobby know he was on his way up. After talking to Jimmy, Bobby gently woke her up and said, "Jimmy's on his way up, to you want to stay in here while he's here?"  
  
She nodded her head yes, and looked at him, pain and fear still evident in her eyes.  
  
"As soon as he's gone I'll come back in here ok?" he asked.  
  
"Ok," she whispered quietly, burrowing into the covers to go back to sleep.  
  
Bobby got up and gently kissed her on the head and closed the door to their room before heading towards the front door where Jimmy was waiting. When he played the tape for Jimmy he had the volume up only as loud as it needed to be for Jimmy to hear it. He could tell Jimmy's reaction to the tape because he was clenching his teeth in anger and the veins on either side of his neck were bulging.  
  
"That bastard thinks this is all one big game!" Jimmy exclaimed softly.  
  
"I know, he's one sick person that's for sure." Bobby said in agreement.  
  
"I'd better get going to work. I'll let you know if Craig shows up for work today later on." Jimmy replied, putting his coat on and heading for the door.  
  
"Ok, see you later," Bobby replied, closing the door after Jimmy had left.  
  
Thirty minutes after Jimmy had left; his mother had called to see how he was doing after being released from the hospital. She sensed something wasn't right with her son and asked what was wrong.  
  
"Algo malo. ¿Qué es?" she asked her son. {Something's wrong. What is it?}  
  
He knew that he couldn't lie to her. She'd know if he were so he reluctantly told her what had happened.  
  
After releasing an emotional sigh he began to speak.  
  
"Era fino hasta vino hogar esta mañana. Cuándo yo obtuve el todo buscador parecido normal, nada fuera de lugar. Cuando escuché los mensajes en el contestador hay uno de un tipo nuevo en el trabajo que ha sido una peste mayor desde que él vino a la estación. ¡El mensaje que él dejó estaba enfermo y demente! Fui a verificar en Kim desde que ella había estirado un doble con Alex anoche cuando la misma persona que dejó el mensaje se quitó en el centro de un cambio. ¡El tipo la secuestró en una llamada sin fundamento y la ató hacia abajo y la golpea! ¡Ella estaba completamente impotente! Ella es espantada a la muerte ahora a causa de lo que él hizo a ella!"  
  
{I was fine till I came home this morning. When I got home everything seemed normal, nothing out of place. As I listened to the messages on the answering machine there is one from a new guy at work who has been a major pest since he came to the station. The message he left was sick and demented! I went to check on Kim since she'd pulled a double with Alex last night when the same person who left the message took off in the middle of a shift. The guy abducted her on an unfounded call and tied her down and beat her! She was completely helpless! She's scared to death now because of what he did to her!}  
  
She could hear the anger, frustration and despair in her son's voice as he spoke and asked softly, "¿Cuán malo ella es lastimada?" {How bad is she hurt?}  
  
He replied softly, "Ella es obtenida las magulladuras por todas partes su cara. El aún busted el labio donde él la golpeaba. Ontop de que ella tiene las quemaduras del lazo en muñecas de donde ella fue sujetada y tratado de zurrar alrededor de obtenerlo parar lastimarla."  
  
{She's got bruises all over her face. He even busted her lip where he was beating her. Ontop of that she has rope burns on her wrists from where she was tied down and tried to thrash around to get him to stop hurting her.}  
  
She knew how much it must hurt her son to see what this person had done to Kim. She said quietly, "Ella necesitará probablemente mucho apoyo para atravesar esto. Si usted necesita algo por favor me llama y veré lo que puedo hacer. Las cosas pequeñas que usted hace para ella ahora la harán se siente mucho mejor." {She's probably going to need a lot of support to get through this. If you need anything please call me and I'll see what I can do. The little things you do for her now will make her feel a lot better.}  
  
"Gracias. Si necesito algo yo llamaré. Espero que yo la pueda ayudar atraviesa esto. ¿Cómo hacen los niños?" he asked. {Thank you. If I need anything I'll call. I'm hoping I can help her get through this. How are the kids doing?}  
  
"Aguante y permitiré que usted hablará a Joey. Keira entró apenas para una siesta." His mother replied, motioning for Joey to come over and passing him the phone. {Hold on and I'll let you talk to Joey. Keira just went in for a nap.}  
  
"Hey there heathen, you behaving yourself?" Bobby asked trying to sound cheerful.  
  
"Yep, how are you feeling?" Joey questioned.  
  
"Pretty good right now," he replied, even though he felt awful thinking about Kim.  
  
"How's mom?" Joey asked innocently, not knowing what had happened.  
  
"She's sleeping. She had to work late one of the guys got hurt so she covered his shift and didn't get in till early this morning." Bobby replied, not telling Joey what else had happened.  
  
"Will you tell her I miss her when she wakes up and that I love her?" Joey asked.  
  
"I most certainly will. How's your sister doin?" Bobby questioned.  
  
"Being spoiled rotten," Joey replied laughing.  
  
Bobby smiled for the first time since he'd come home and said, "I'd better being going. I'll see you all later, ok?"  
  
"Ok. Don't forget to tell mom what I told you." Joey said before hanging up the phone.  
  
"Don't worry I won't. Stay out of trouble and I'll talk to you all soon." Bobby replied.  
  
"Bye," Joey replied into the phone, hanging it up a short time later.  
  
After having finished talking to Joey, he returned to where Kim slept in the next room. He changed clothes and stretched back out beside her, feeling her curl against him. He gently wrapped his arms around her once more and drifted off to sleep, vowing to do whatever he could to protect her and get her through this.  
  
Spanish Translations: {sorry this chapter was so intense w/ the spanish}  
  
¿Quién era el infierno eso?  
  
Who the hell was that?  
  
¿Acerca de qué el infierno habla él? ¿Qué arruinó Alex y quién son la policía arrogante? ¿Qué clase del chiste torcido enfermo es esto?  
  
What the hell is he talking about? What did Alex ruin and who is the arrogant cop? What kind of sick twisted joke is this?  
  
¡Próximo tiempo yo veo Craig patético cobarde como, yo buscaré la Venganza en él! ¡La venganza para no patear su maldice como el primer tiempo que él la lastimó y para él tratar brutalmentela aprecia esto!  
  
Next time I see Craig's pathetic cowardly ass, I will seek vengeance on him! Vengeance for not kicking his damn ass the first time he hurt her and for him brutalizing her like this!  
  
Ssssh, está bien. Estoy aquí ahora.  
  
Ssssh, it's ok. I'm here now.  
  
Está bien.  
  
It's ok.  
  
Por favor no vaya. Yo no quiero ser sólo después que el todo que se acontece.  
  
Please don't go. I don't want to be alone after everything that's happened.  
  
Yo no voy dondequiera novio. Apenas descanso, yo estaré aquí con usted cuando usted se despierta.  
  
I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. Just rest, I'll be here with you when you wake up.  
  
Algo malo. ¿Qué es?  
  
Something's wrong. What is it?  
  
Era fino hasta vino hogar esta mañana. Cuándo yo obtuve el todo buscador parecido normal, nada fuera de lugar. Cuando escuché los mensajes en el contestador hay uno de un tipo nuevo en el trabajo que ha sido una peste mayor desde que él vino a la estación. ¡El mensaje que él dejó estaba enfermo y demente! Fui a verificar en Kim desde que ella había estirado un doble con Alex anoche cuando la misma persona que dejó el mensaje se quitó en el centro de un cambio. ¡El tipo la secuestró en una llamada sin fundamento y la ató hacia abajo y la golpea! ¡Ella estaba completamente impotente! Ella es espantada a la muerte ahora a causa de lo que él hizo a ella!  
  
I was fine till I came home this morning. When I got home everything seemed normal, nothing out of place. As I listened to the messages on the answering machine there is one from a new guy at work who has been a major pest since he came to the station. The message he left was sick and demented! I went to check on Kim since she'd pulled a double with Alex last night when the same person who left the message took off in the middle of a shift. The guy abducted her on an unfounded call and tied her down and beat her! She was completely helpless! She's scared to death now because of what he did to her!  
  
¿Cuán malo ella es lastimada?  
  
How bad is she hurt?  
  
Ella es obtenida las magulladuras por todas partes su cara. El aún busted el labio donde él la golpeaba. Ontop de que ella tiene las quemaduras del lazo en muñecas de donde ella fue sujetada y tratado de zurrar alrededor de obtenerlo parar lastimarla.  
  
She's got bruises all over her face. He even busted her lip where he was beating her. Ontop of that she has rope burns on her wrists from where she was tied down and tried to thrash around to get him to stop hurting her.  
  
Ella necesitará probablemente mucho apoyo para atravesar esto. Si usted necesita algo por favor me llama y veré lo que puedo hacer. Las cosas pequeñas que usted hace para ella ahora la harán se siente mucho mejor.  
  
She's probably going to need a lot of support to get through this. If you need anything please call me and I'll see what I can do. The little things you do for her now will make her feel a lot better.  
  
Gracias. Si necesito algo yo llamaré. Espero que yo la pueda ayudar atraviesa esto. ¿Cómo hacen los niños?  
  
Thank you. If I need anything I'll call. I'm hoping I can help her get through this. How are the kids doing?  
  
Aguante y permitiré que usted hablará a Joey. Keira entró apenas para una siesta.  
  
Hold on and I'll let you talk to Joey. Keira just went in for a nap. 


	48. From the Inside

AN- Sure I can put the translations in {} at the end of what's originally being said. No one ever suggested anything like that before so I don't have a problem doing that for you all if it will make it easier to read. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Later that day Jimmy called Bobby to let him know that Craig hadn't come back. Bobby was relieved but worried at the same time because if he wasn't there, it's hard to tell where he was. Bobby primarily spent the rest of the day with Kim, letting her know everything would be ok and trying to help her feel safe once again. He had hid the tape from the answering machine so she wouldn't hear the message that Craig had left and told her the news Jimmy had told him.  
  
"Jimmy just called. Craig didn't show up at the station today. He just might leave for good." Bobby said.  
  
"That's a relief, but what if somehow he's watching us? You know like spying or something." She asked, the thought of that making her sick to her stomach.  
  
"Come on Kimmy, don't think like that." Bobby said wrapping his arms around her again; "Things will get better, you'll see."  
  
She sighed heavily; knowing all the worries she had about Craig weren't making matters any better and said, "Have you talked to your mom to see how the kids are?"  
  
"Yeah, I talked to her not to long after Jimmy left. Keira had gone in for a nap and Joey was playing with his gameboy. Joey told me to tell you he missed you and sends his love too." Bobby replied; "You wanna come with me to bring them home?"  
  
"Lemme go change and see if I can cover up any of these bruises with some make-up," she replied heading in to take a shower and get dressed.  
  
While she was gone he called his mother back and told her they were coming over to get the kids. She asked how Kim was doing and he told replied that she was driving herself crazy with worries. About fifteen minutes later Kim came back out and had managed to conceal most of the bruises on her face with some makeup. Her lip was still swollen where Craig had busted it but it wasn't as bad as what it had been earlier. When they arrived at his mothers, they saw Joey in the window looking at them anxiously. When his mother let them in Joey embraced his mother tightly when she sat down on the couch. Keira had started to cry and Bobby's mother said to Joey, "Why don't you go check on your sister for me."  
  
Joey headed off to check on Keira and the three adults sat and talked about how Kim was doing after everything that had happened that morning. After Joey checked on his sister he stood in the hallway and overheard what was being said, feeling scared after hearing what had happened to his mother. He went back in and played with Keira when Kim came in a short time later to check on them.  
  
"Hey sweetie, you ok?" she asked, noticing he was acting strange.  
  
"I'm fine," he replied softly, not looking at his mother.  
  
"No, you're not. Tell me what's wrong?" she replied softly, having him take a seat next to her on the floor.  
  
"Why did whoever hurt you do it? You wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, why did he want to hurt you?" Joey asked, seeing the tears forming in his mother's eyes.  
  
She hugged him close and said softly as tears slipped down her face, "I don't know baby. I don't know why he did it. You're right, I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone. I think the person who did this isn't like us. I guess he doesn't care who he hurts or how he does it."  
  
"Dad or Bobby won't do that will they?" Joey asked hesitantly.  
  
"No, they wouldn't lift a hand to either of us sweetheart. They aren't like that and never will be. I was lucky when I met both of them, fortunate I never had to worry about either of them being like that." Kim replied softly, trying to reassure her son that nothing else would happen.  
  
After a while he felt better and she asked as she picked up Keira, "You wanna go back out there with me and your sister?"  
  
"Yeah," Joey replied smiling, following his mother out of the room.  
  
That night after her shift, Alex went out for a few drinks by herself to try and get rid of the memories of that morning. After a while her body shuddered as the alcohol slid down her throat increasing the tingling sensation she was feeling from what she'd drank previously. She was about ready to slam another shot when she heard a voice call out, "Alex! What on earth are you doing?"  
  
Jimmy had planned on getting wasted after work to try and get rid of the anger and hatred he was feeling towards Craig. When he walked into the bar he saw Alex sitting there, obviously doing the same thing he'd planned on doing. He sure had plenty of things to try and forget most involving Craig, and the other the involving the thoughts he'd been having about Alex. When he saw her downing shots, he wondered how many she'd had before he came in. When he got over to her he could tell she was probably pretty drunk.  
  
"You know, the alcohol isn't going to make it all go away," Jimmy said, sitting down next to her; it was ironic he said that to her though, because he'd come in to do the same thing.  
  
"But it makes it feel better though," she replied, her speech slightly slurred from being drunk.  
  
"If you're doing this because of earlier, it's not your fault. No one is blaming you for what happened to Kim, not me, not her and not Bobby. They know you wouldn't have let this happen, you two are too close to let anything happen to the other." Jimmy said softly; "Come on, I'm taking you home, you've had enough for tonight."  
  
"No Jimmy, I'm staying a little while longer." She replied, reaching for another shot.  
  
"After that shot I'm taking you home Alexandra. I'm not fighting with you over this." Jimmy said, turning her head towards him before she drank the shot she held in her hand.  
  
"Fine," she huffed; tossing her head back as she drank the last shot and made an attempt to stand.  
  
Jimmy paid for what she'd drank and grabbed her before she fell and asked, "How on earth were you expecting to get home? You can hardly walk."  
  
Alex never answered his question and he helped her into his car and drove her home. After he got her inside her house he said, "You're going to have one hell of a hang over in the morning after having had so much to drink, but all the same memories you started out with."  
  
He canned the idea of going out and getting wasted after seeing Alex completely trashed and decided to go back home instead. Jimmy walked back into his apartment a little over an hour after he'd first left, intending on drowning himself in alcohol in an attempt to erase some of his feelings. It was rare he ever saw Alex completely trashed like this so he imagined she must have been taking what happened to Kim extremely hard.  
  
After the kids had gone to bed, Kim sat in the living room, lying across the couch deep in thought. Primarily thinking about what the conversation she'd had with Joey at Bobby's mother's house. She sighed softly, picturing his face as he asked her why Craig had hurt her. A pair of warm hands rubbing her neck and shoulders pulled her from her thoughts, startling her at first.  
  
"I didn't mean to startle you," Bobby said softly, taking a seat behind her when she sat up.  
  
"It's ok," she replied, lying back against his chest.  
  
"You looked deep in thought there for a bit," he commented, still gently rubbing her shoulders.  
  
"I was. Just thinking about what Joey asked me when we were at your mom's." she replied softly.  
  
"What did he say?" Bobby asked curiously.  
  
"He overheard the three of us talking about this morning and wanted to know why Craig had done this." She replied hesitantly.  
  
"What did you say to him about that?" he asked gently, knowing this wasn't easy for her to talk about.  
  
"I told him I didn't know why he did it. Because truthfully I have no clue why he seems to target me all the time." She replied softly.  
  
"Did what you say to him help?" he asked in reply.  
  
"For the most part, yeah." Kim replied, thinking about the other questions that Joey had asked her.  
  
He felt her tense up as she replied and he figured there was more and asked, "Did he say anything else?"  
  
"Yeah." She said back, pausing for a moment; "He then asked me if you or Jimmy would ever do that."  
  
Bobby winced at what Joey had asked her and replied, "You know I could never raise a hand to you, Joey or Keira like that, right?"  
  
"I know you wouldn't. I told him neither of you would do that. Jimmy and I had a lot of disagreements when we were married, and even had some really nasty fights. But he never once thought about taking his anger out on us like that. I've been extremely lucky to never have been in a relationship like that." She said back, snuggling against him.  
  
"You'll never have to worry about that. Ever." Bobby replied, taking her left hand in his and gently kissing it. 


	49. Prelude to Disaster

Two days later, Kim had returned to work after Bobby having been in the hospital and her abduction by Craig while working with Alex. Craig never returned to the firehouse after that so they returned to normal, at least as normal as they could be till Bobby returned the following Monday. When he came back to work that Monday, things were starting to be as they were before Kim had become pregnant.  
  
One afternoon Brooke showed up with Jimmy at the firehouse, unaware that a short distance away Craig was watching what was going on. Everyone at the station greeted her with a warm reception and she hung around a bit, chatting with everyone since things were slow.  
  
"So have you two set a wedding date yet?" Kim asked.  
  
"Not a set one. We've been looking at a few possible dates but nothing permanent yet." Brooke replied to Kim.  
  
"You know Doherty, all the your old flings are going to be heartbroken that you're settling down." D.K smirked to his friend.  
  
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they all show up here in tears," Walsh chimed in.  
  
"I know one that won't be in the processional," Bobby said grinning at Kim.  
  
"Aw come on Bobby, you know she'll be heartbroken." Lombardo kidded, winking at Kim.  
  
"You all have a pathetic sense of humor," Kim snided to her fellow colleagues, causing Brooke to laugh.  
  
"I have to hand it to you and Alex. How on earth do you two put up with their immaturity?" Brooke asked Kim.  
  
"It's an acquired taste at first, but once you get used to it nothing hardly shocks us anymore." Alex replied laughing.  
  
"I'll say," Brooke said back to Alex, laughing along as well.  
  
Brooke left about fifteen minutes later since she had some errands she had to run. Jimmy and the rest of the guys followed them outside. Kim and Bobby sat in the TV room relaxing, enjoying the downtime and the guys came back and started lifting weights. The two of them started talking after Doc and Carlos got called out, not wanting what they were saying to be understood they both switched to Spanish for privacy sake.  
  
"¿Así, piensa usted que este casamiento durará?" Bobby asked curiously. {So, do you think this marriage will last?}  
  
"Depende de si ella tiene a una hermana." Kim replied jokingly. {Depends on if she has a sister.}  
  
"Venga en Kimmy. Soy es grave aquí." Bobby said laughing. {Come on Kimmy. I'm being serious here.}  
  
"Pienso acaba de poder. Yo siempre seré escéptico aunque, sabido qué artimañas que él puede estirar." Kim replied smiling, noticing Jimmy standing in the doorway. {I think it just might. I'll always be skeptical though, having known what tricks he can pull.}  
  
"You need something Jimmy?" Kim asked.  
  
"No, just wondering when on earth you learned Spanish and trying to make sense of what you all were just saying." He replied smirking.  
  
"Pienso que él está Kimmy celoso. ¿Qué piensa usted?" Bobby replied chuckling. {I think he's jealous Kimmy. What do you think?}  
  
"¿Usted sabe qué? Pienso su derecho." Kim said giggling. {You know what? I think your right.}  
  
"For your information I started learning how to speak Spanish shortly after Bobby proposed to me." Kim replied to Jimmy's question.  
  
Jimmy walked away rolling his eyes as the two picked back up into their conversation. He grabbed something to drink and headed in to lift some weights with the rest of the guys. As he entered the room he shook his head and laughed.  
  
"What's so funny Jimmy?" D.K asked curiously.  
  
"Just laughing at the two in the other room. We've got three people now who speak Spanish." He replied, getting ready to start bench pressing for a bit.  
  
"Three? Who's the third one?" Lombardo responded.  
  
"Who's the third what?" Carlos asked, standing in the doorway after overhearing what was being said.  
  
"Someone else around here speaks Spanish and we didn't even know it!" Lombardo replied.  
  
"No way! Who?" Carlos replied shocked.  
  
All of a sudden a bright idea entered Jimmy's head. Something that would be a funny prank of sorts.  
  
"Hey Nieto! Go in the next room and say something about Kim in Spanish and see what happens." Jimmy suggested.  
  
"What do you want me to say about her?" Carlos asked curiously but hesitantly.  
  
"Something that will get her attention and evoke a response from her." Jimmy replied smirking.  
  
"Doherty, if I get pounded by her or Bobby you're paying the medical bills!" Carlos said before heading into the next room.  
  
Bobby heard the conversation that was going on the next room and said silently to himself, "Knowing Carlos he's going to say something sex related and Kim will be ready to kill him."  
  
Minutes later Carlos came in the room and said, "¡Oye Kim! Usted nunca adivinará lo que soñé acerca de anoche." {Hey Kim! You'll never guess what I dreamt about last night.}  
  
"¿Qué Carlos? ¿Que usted sabe verdaderamente cómo tratar a una mujer en vez de utilizarlos para su propia ganancia?" she replied unamused. {What Carlos? That you actually know how to treat a woman instead of using them for your own gain?}  
  
"No, distante de lo verdaderamente. Que usted y yo se juntaron por un anochecer y dicen apenas lo era bastante explosivo no decir más." Carlos replied smugly. {No, far from it actually. That you and I got together for an evening and let's just say it was rather explosive to say the least.}  
  
Kim's face contorted in disgust and said angrily, "¡Carlos! ¡Yo nunca dormiría con usted si usted era el último hombre en la tierra! Usted puede besar esa idea pequeña bye bueno porque no acontecerá jamás." {Carlos! I would never sleep with you if you were the last man on earth! You can kiss that little idea good bye because it won't ever happen.}  
  
Kim heard all the guys in the next room crack up laughing as they came out and stood in the doorway.  
  
"What the hell are you all laughing at?" she asked heatedly.  
  
"How you fell for our prank hook line and sinker." Jimmy said, unable to hold back laughter anymore.  
  
"Did you plan all this Jimmy!" Kim hissed, narrowing her eyes at her ex- husband.  
  
"Like I could pass up an opportunity to piss my ex-wife off." Jimmy said sarcastically.  
  
Kim stormed past the group in the doorway, slapping Jimmy upside the head for thinking all this up and went and stretched out on her bunk to cool off.  
  
"Oww that hurt!" Jimmy whined as she stormed off, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"That's what you get for pissing her off Doherty." Bobby said, going up to check on Kim.  
  
She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and prayed that it better not be Jimmy or else she'd light into him further for his pathetic attempt at a prank. When she saw Bobby she let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"You ok?" Bobby asked sitting down beside her.  
  
"Why the hell can't he grow up?" Kim questioned.  
  
"I think you are more qualified to answer that one yourself. You after all were married to him at one point. Although I think he's a kid trapped inside a man's body." Bobby smirked.  
  
"Bobby!" Kim exclaimed, starting to laugh.  
  
"I take it you're feeling better?" he asked.  
  
"No thanks to your attempt to humor me," She replied smiling.  
  
"What can I say, I aim to please." He said laughing.  
  
"Oh really?" Kim purred.  
  
"Whatever you're thinking isn't going to happen till later my darling." Bobby teased.  
  
Mock disappointment crossed Kim's face as she replied sighing, "All I wanted you to do was kiss me. But if you want to wait till later I guess that's what will happen."  
  
"I think that is permissible," Bobby said laughing, rolling her over on to her back.  
  
"Nope, you said not till later so that's the way it will be. Although I would suggest someone needs to get their mind out of the gutter." Kim replied smiling.  
  
"If you don't let me, then I'll be forced to tickle you till you I can kiss my beautiful wife." Bobby said winking at her; "You never know I just might get your ex in on it too."  
  
"You wouldn't dare!" She replied in mock astonishment.  
  
"Wanna bet?" he asked quizzically.  
  
"The kiss better be mind-blowing or else." Kim said in mock warning.  
  
"Or what?" he asked, leaning towards her.  
  
"Do you really want to know?" she teased, motioning for him to lean closer to her.  
  
"As a matter of fact I do. You've got me curious now," he replied laughing, leaning closer to her.  
  
Kim got a hold of the collar of his uniform and pulled his head to hers, pressing her lips firmly and heatedly against his. He rested his hands on her waist as she slipped her hands through his hair as their tongues dueling back and forth for dominance. They heard snickers coming from the other end of the room and figured someone was watching what was going on. They ignored the intruders and continued with what they were doing until a call came in.  
  
When they returned Jimmy said chuckling, "Maybe we shouldn't leave the two of you alone anymore if you're going to make out while working."  
  
"I can think of worse things that could happen," Kim replied, giving her ex husband a warning glance to back off.  
  
Jimmy knew exactly what the look meant and didn't push it any further. Bobby sat down at the table in the firehouse and was flipping through the paper, reading about a possible unseasonable heat wave that was supposed to grip the city in a matter of days.  
  
"What do you all think of this so called heat wave we are supposed to get next week?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Heat wave? Not this time of year." Kim replied.  
  
"Says so right here." Bobby said passing her the article.  
  
"Interesting, if it actually happens we'll all have to be careful when we're outside then." Kim said after reading the article.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
¿Así, piensa usted que este casamiento durará?  
  
So, do you think this marriage will last?  
  
Depende de si ella tiene a una hermana.  
  
Depends on if she has a sister.  
  
Venga en Kimmy. Soy es grave aquí.  
  
Come on Kimmy. I'm being serious here.  
  
Pienso acaba de poder. Yo siempre seré escéptico aunque, sabido qué artimañas que él puede estirar.  
  
I think it just might. I'll always be skeptical though, having known what tricks he can pull.  
  
Pienso que él está Kimmy celoso. ¿Qué piensa usted?  
  
I think he's jealous Kimmy. What do you think?  
  
¿Usted sabe qué? Pienso su derecho.  
  
You know what? I think your right.  
  
¡Oye Kim! Usted nunca adivinará lo que soñé acerca de anoche.  
  
Hey Kim! You'll never guess what I dreamt about last night.  
  
¿Qué Carlos? ¿Que usted sabe verdaderamente cómo tratar a una mujer en vez de utilizarlos para su propia ganancia?  
  
What Carlos? That you actually know how to treat a woman instead of using them for your own gain?  
  
No, distante de lo verdaderamente. Que usted y yo se juntaron por un anochecer y dicen apenas lo era bastante explosivo no decir más.  
  
No, far from it actually. That you and I got together for an evening and let's just say it was rather explosive to say the least.  
  
¡Carlos! ¡Yo nunca dormiría con usted si usted era el último hombre en la tierra! Usted puede besar esa idea pequeña bye bueno porque no acontecerá jamás.  
  
Carlos! I would never sleep with you if you were the last man on earth! You can kiss that little idea good bye because it won't ever happen. 


	50. Click Click Boom!

The midday sun was relentless. Beating down on the city with unrelenting waves of hot dry air sending the temperatures sky rocketing. When Kim and Bobby returned from their latest run, getting out of the sun was a relief. As they walked into the shade of the firehouse Kim turned to Bobby and said, "I can't take this anymore. Come get me if we get a call." as she headed towards her locker upstairs.  
  
"Where are you going?" Bobby asked, following her upstairs.  
  
"To take a cold shower," she replied, taking her sweat-drenched hair down from a ponytail.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in response and headed back downstairs and looked at the dinner schedule to see whose night it was to cook. Seeing that it was his night to cook, he began to survey what was stocked to get an idea of what he could fix. After looking everything over, he decided on fixing chicken vegetable marinara and began to gather the ingredients he needed.  
  
Kim had begun to run water and locked the bathroom door so no one would barge in on her. Once everything was ready she stood under the cold stream of water, trying to forget about the heat wave that had its grip on the city. The cold water was a welcome assault on her skin, and dreaded the moment when it would end and another call would come in. Ten minutes later she turned off the water and slipped back into her uniform and began to towel dry her hair. She lay back on her bunk after combing out her hair, placing her uniform top on the bunk next to hers. The cool air of the fan blowing next to her was relaxing as she lay there in just her undershirt and uniform pants, not wanting a call to come in and disrupt her daydreaming.  
  
She'd noticed something was off about Jimmy and was somewhat puzzled as to why he wasn't down hanging with the guys like he always does. She heard footsteps and turned her head, just as the fan blew her hair in her face. She grumbled silently, pushing her still damp hair out of her face when she saw Alex ascending the stairs.  
  
"Hey Alex, what's up?" Kim asked.  
  
"Not much. Just trying to figure out what's up with Jimmy." She replied, sitting down across from Kim.  
  
"What's he doing?" Kim questioned as she sat up, noting the concern on Alex's face.  
  
"He's hardly said two words to anyone all day long. It's not like him to be reclusive like this." Alex replied, genuinely worried that something wasn't right.  
  
"Who all has tried to talk to him?" Kim asked.  
  
"Me, Walsh, D.K, Lombardo, Doc and Carlos." Alex responded.  
  
"I doubt he'd say anything to me but I can try and see if I can get anything out of him." Kim said, hoping to ease her friend's worries.  
  
"Would you? I just want to make sure he's ok, ya know." Alex replied.  
  
"I can try. I won't promise he'll open up to me but I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Where is he at?" Kim asked.  
  
"Up on the roof," Alex replied quietly.  
  
"The roof! In this heat!" Kim asked, shocked to hear where he was.  
  
"Yeah, we've all tried to get him to come inside but he won't listen to us." Alex said, watching Kim head for the roof.  
  
As she opened the door to the roof, a wave of hot air bombarded her but she pushed on out of concern for her ex-husband and hoped that she could ease Alex's worries that something was wrong. She spotted him sitting on the scorching tar roof and saw the pained expression on his face.  
  
"Jimmy?" she called out softly, not wanting to startle him.  
  
"Go away Kim," Jimmy replied, hurt purely showing in his eyes as he looked at her.  
  
"Tell me what's wrong," she asked sincerely, crouching down in front of him.  
  
He looked at the worried expression on her face and said almost inaudibly, "I finally know what it's like."  
  
"What do you mean? I don't understand." Kim replied, barely having heard what he had said, wondering how long he'd been out in the scorching heat.  
  
"Jimmy, please. Come inside and let's talk about this. You're going to have heat stroke if you stay out here much longer. If you won't do it for yourself at least do it for Joey." She pleaded, noticing his FDNY shirt plastered to his chest from sweating profusely.  
  
"I don't care, please just leave me alone." He said tiredly, hanging his head as sweat began to drip off his face onto the scorching roof.  
  
"Jimmy, I'm not leaving you up here to do something stupid and not try and find out what's bothering you." She replied, becoming assertive hoping he'd see to reason.  
  
"You've got the perfect life," he began to say, looking at her shocked expression; "You're happily married to Bobby and you have both Joey and Keira. What more could you ask for."  
  
His statement floored Kim. She had no idea what had happened to him but for him to talk like that it must be serious.  
  
"Jimmy get yourself up from the roof and come inside with me so we can talk about this. I don't know what happened to put you in this state, but please let me help you." Kim said, praying he'd listen to her for the millionth time.  
  
Reluctantly he pushed himself off the ground, but was unsteady on his feet from the heat stroke and early dehydration.  
  
"Here, lean on me and let me help you," she replied putting his arm around her neck and wrapping her arm around his waist trying to support his massive frame. She slowly helped him inside but knew there was no way she could maneuver him down the flight of stairs to the bunks. When they were inside, she propped him up against the wall and called out for Alex.  
  
"Alex! I need your help, hurry!" she called, feeling Jimmy starting to sag, wondering how much longer she could support his weight on her own.  
  
Alex heard Kim's plea and ran to the stairs and saw her trying to support Jimmy. Quickly running up the stairs, Alex took Jimmy's other arm and put it around her neck and together the two of them maneuvered him down to the nearest bunk to the stairs. After getting him situated Kim said to Alex, "Can you go get me several cold cloths, a bottle of water, cup of ice and a tympanic thermometer?"  
  
"Got it," Alex replied, taking off to get the cloths first before getting the rest of the stuff Kim had asked for.  
  
She returned with several cloths soaking in a small container of ice cold water and then ran downstairs to get the rest of the items. Bobby saw Alex rush past him into the supply room carrying a bottle of water, cup of ice and leave carrying a thermometer and plastic cover for it. Puzzled as to what her hurry was he called out to Lombardo in the next room.  
  
"Hey Lombardo, can you come here?" He asked, stirring the sauce and turning down the heat on the stove.  
  
"What you need Bobby?" Lombardo asked, sauntering into the kitchen.  
  
"Can you keep an eye on the sauce? I gotta run up stairs for a bit." He asked watching the sauce simmer slowly on low heat.  
  
"Sure thing," he replied, watching Bobby leave the room.  
  
Kim placed the cloths on Jimmy's forehead and the back of his neck, hoping to cool him off. While she was alone she asked him softly, concern appearing in her voice, "What happened between you and Brooke?" figuring it had something to do with her.  
  
Jimmy took his hand and placed it on Kim's cheek and said hoarsely, "I finally know how much I must have hurt you," his voice trailing off at the end.  
  
"What did she do?" Kim asked softly, placing her hand on top of his.  
  
"I went over to her place this morning to pick her up since we were supposed to go out for breakfast. I used the key she gave me but as I opened the door something didn't feel right. As I walked through her apartment I found her with someone else." Jimmy explained sadly, unable to look at Kim.  
  
Alex returned with the rest of the supplies Kim had asked for and saw the hurt expression on her face.  
  
"Kim, what's wrong?" Alex asked softly.  
  
"I found out what's wrong with Jimmy." She said somewhat dazed, pushing all the memories that came flooding back out of her mind.  
  
"What happened?" Alex prodded gently.  
  
"He caught Brooke sleeping with someone else this morning. They were supposed to go out for breakfast but when he went to pick her up at her place and walked in on her." Kim said pushing back the memories she'd worked through when she went through the same thing with him.  
  
"Oh my!" Alex exclaimed softly, looking over at a heartbroken Jimmy lying on the bunk.  
  
Kim picked up the tympanic thermometer and put the plastic cover over the earpiece. In a matter of seconds it gave her a reading, confirming her fears that he'd had extreme exposure from the sun which had elevated his temperature to a dangerous level.  
  
"God, he's still burning up," Kim said looking at the reading; the display read 108° F.  
  
"Alex, turn the cold water on all the way in the shower, we've got to get his temperature down fast." Kim said, getting ready to try and help Jimmy to his feet.  
  
He was so disoriented he could hardly stand on his own and just about knocked Kim to the floor. Right about that time Bobby came up the stairs to see what Alex had been in such a hurry over. As Kim tried to counterbalance herself with the sudden weight Jimmy had placed on her, she saw Bobby race forward and helped steady him, keeping her from hitting the floor.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Bobby asked, alarmed at Jimmy's condition.  
  
"Heat stroke. Help me get him in the shower, his temp is 108 so we've got to get it down before any permanent damage is done." She replied, grabbing his other arm.  
  
The two quickly got him situated when Alex said, "There is no way he can stand in their on his own, someone is going to have to go in there with him."  
  
Judging by the faces of Alex and Bobby, they weren't about ready to volunteer so that left her.  
  
"Fine, I guess that leaves me then." Kim said, slightly annoyed, leaving to get a change of clothes from her locker.  
  
When she returned carrying a change of clothes and getting a folding chair for him to sit in, she saw Bobby was about ready to say something to her, and said, "Don't start with me Bobby." before he even had a chance to say anything. She placed the folding chair in the shower since there was no way she could support his frame on a wet floor. After getting situated and changing out of her uniform into the outfit she'd brought with her, she began to remove his shirt and pants, leaving the underwear just to appease the look Bobby was shooting at her. The three of them got him in the shower and in the chair under the cold stream of water.  
  
Kim looked back at Alex and Bobby and said, "I'll let you all know when I need help getting him out of here." before pulling the curtain closed. Alex and Bobby waited outside the door, sitting on one of the bunks so they could hear when they were done. Kim found several towels lying outside the shower and picked them up, holding them under the cold spray of water. After completely soaking them she wrapped the towels around Jimmy's shoulders and chest. The cold water had begun to cause goosebumps to form on her skin as she began to shiver a bit. "If I get sick from this, Alex and Bobby are in for it," She grumbled to herself.  
  
Twenty minutes later she yelled for Bobby and Alex to help her get him out and over to the bunks. They wrapped a blanket around him and guided him over to his bunk and pulled the covers back and eased him down. Alex reassessed his temperature while Bobby wrapped a blanket around Kim's shivering shoulders, before she headed to change out of her wet clothes. Jimmy's temperature had dropped down to 100° F, which was a low grade, non- life-threatening fever. Bobby left to relieve Lombardo from watching the marinara sauce and got ready to put the chicken on to cook.  
  
Alex left to get some more ice when Jimmy began to come to after having his fever drop. After getting his bearings he tried to sit up but was still very disoriented and saw the room begin to spin.  
  
"Jimmy, just lay back and rest." Kim said softly, gently pushing him back down on the bunk.  
  
He didn't fight her when she pushed him back down; instead he turned his head towards her voice and looked at her. She was still huddled under the blanket Bobby had put around her, sitting there watching him to make sure he was ok. He weakly grasped her hand and moved her closer to the edge of the bed.  
  
"Just rest," Kim said softly, gently squeezing his hand.  
  
He wrapped his arm around her waist, in hopes of making the room stop spinning. Once things stopped spinning his eyes locked onto hers and he said, "Thank you for taking care of me."  
  
Kim began to feel uncomfortable having his arm around her and opened her mouth to get ready to say something. Jimmy silenced her by placing his index finger against her lips.  
  
"Jimmy, I can't." she began to say before he sat up and placed a tender kiss on her lips, cutting her off.  
  
Unable to believe what was going on, her mind couldn't process the fact that her ex-husband was kissing her. She was too in shock to hear the footsteps coming up the stairs until it was too late.  
  
Bobby had finished fixing the chicken vegetable marinara and the guys downstairs had already begun to help themselves to dinner. Bobby headed upstairs to let Kim know that dinner was ready. As he climbed the stairs he got ready to call out to her to let her know about dinner, what he saw as he crested the stairs hit him like a ton of bricks. He closed his eyes, hoping he'd been seeing things, but it wasn't so. He quickly headed back down the stairs and went to sit outside the firehouse. Darkness fell upon the city and Bobby was still seated outside, elbows resting on his knees while holding his head. Trying to rid his mind of the images he'd seen earlier.  
  
Alex and the rest of the guys sat around talking and eating when D.K said, "Why hasn't Kim come down? Didn't anyone tell her that dinner was ready?"  
  
"I thought Bobby went to get her." Alex replied puzzled.  
  
"That's what I thought too." Walsh replied, looking around the table.  
  
"I'll go up and check on her." Alex said, getting up from the table.  
  
Jimmy had drifted off to sleep and Kim sat across from him, running her hands through her hair nervously. She heard another set of footsteps coming up the stairs, which sent her heart racing for the second time that evening.  
  
"Kim? How come you're not downstairs? Dinner's ready." Alex said.  
  
"Really? I didn't know that." She responded, thinking about the set of footsteps she'd heard earlier.  
  
"That's weird, because Bobby came up to get you." Alex said back, taking a seat next to Kim.  
  
"What!" Kim exclaimed, feeling like she was going to faint.  
  
"Please God, don't let it have been him coming up the stairs earlier," she said fearfully to herself.  
  
Alex saw the color drain from her friend's face and knew something was wrong. Kim began to shake as she sat next to Alex, realizing who had come up earlier. She got up and headed towards the window and looked outside at the darkened city, on the verge of tears.  
  
"Damn it Jimmy! Why couldn't you have listened," she whispered almost inaudibly, looking at Bobby sitting outside the firehouse.  
  
Alex walked over towards her and looked in the direction of Kim's gaze and said, "Please. Tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Do you remember when you went after more ice?" Kim began to say.  
  
"Yeah, I remember." Alex replied, not sure where this was heading.  
  
After taking in a shaky breath, she continued.  
  
"Jimmy tried to get up, but said the room was spinning. I told him not to get up and to rest. He put his arm around my waist, with the hopes of getting the room to stop spinning. I began to feel uncomfortable and got ready to say something when he silenced me. Putting his index finger over my lips to keep me quiet. I finally managed to say 'I can't do this' but the next thing I know, he's kissing me. I remember hearing footsteps, then instantaneously hearing them disappear. I couldn't process through what was happening, it was like I was frozen and couldn't move." She finished, biting back the sob that was on the verge of coming out.  
  
Unable to withstand the pressure, she fled to the roof and let the tears fall. Alex gave her some time to herself before going up to check on her.  
  
Several hours later Jimmy awoke to an empty room. He tried to stand on his own but was too weak and sat back down.  
  
"Kim, do you want me to try and talk to him?" Alex asked gently.  
  
Tears shone in her eyes as she replied, "It won't do any good."  
  
"Let me at least see what he says, you never know it might not have been him." Alex said back, hoping to make her feel better.  
  
"If it wasn't him then why is he just sitting out there." Kim replied as Alex left.  
  
Alex knew Kim was probably right. It had to have been him that came up earlier.  
  
Jimmy heard footsteps coming down from the roof and saw Alex heading to go downstairs.  
  
"Alex!" Jimmy called out weakly.  
  
She turned around and saw Jimmy trying to get up.  
  
"Lay down. I'll bring you up something to eat." She said, not letting him stand.  
  
"Where's Kim?" he asked.  
  
Alex winced as he said Kim's name when he said, "Is something wrong with her?", forgetting that he'd kissed Kim earlier.  
  
"You don't remember do you." Alex asked.  
  
"Remember what?" Jimmy replied, somewhat confused.  
  
"You kissed Kim earlier tonight." She said as Jimmy cut her off.  
  
"I what! I think I'd remember if I kissed my ex-wife Alex." He replied.  
  
"Bobby walked in on the whole thing. She's been up on the roof for the past thirty minutes crying over this." Alex interjected, narrowing her eyes at Jimmy; "Stay put. I'll get you something to eat and bring it up here."  
  
Alex left and warmed a plate of food for Jimmy and took him a bottle of water.  
  
"I need to talk to her and sort this out." Jimmy said when Alex returned with dinner.  
  
"Leave her alone Jimmy. I doubt she's in the mood to talk to you right now." Alex replied, turning to leave to talk to Bobby.  
  
Jimmy began to eat what Alex had brought him and she left to talk with Bobby. She was on her way past the T.V room when D.K said, "Hey Taylor, is Kim ok?" Not wanting things to get spread around the station Alex replied, "Yeah, she's fine.", praying the guys believed her.  
  
As she approached Bobby, she called out softly, "You ok?"  
  
"Please Alex, leave me alone. I need some time to think." He replied quietly, looking over at her.  
  
"Ok. If you want someone to talk to you know where to find me." She replied, heading back inside.  
  
Kim pulled herself together long enough to call her mother to see if the kids could stay with her for the evening. She didn't go into details as to why but her mother assumed it was work related and said it would be fine.  
  
The anger Bobby felt finally began to take over. He stormed off towards the stairs to confront Kim about what he had seen. 


	51. Brawl for All

Songs used in story (in order of use) {I don't own any of them either}  
  
When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down.  
  
Figure.09 by Linkin Park  
  
He deserved some answers and she was going to give them to him, no matter how long they fought. Alex had stayed near by and heard his footsteps coming towards her.  
  
"Bobby! Wait!" Alex called, hoping to slow him down.  
  
"What!" Bobby snapped back at her, anger fueling his actions.  
  
"Fighting with her isn't going to solve anything." she replied, shocked at his behavior since she'd never seen him this angry before.  
  
"Well she should've thought about that earlier!" he replied, storming past Alex.  
  
Luckily the rest of the guys were too busy staring at the TV to notice Bobby's anger when he went past them, which was a good thing since they didn't know what was going on.  
  
As he headed upstairs, he glared at Jimmy who had his back to him before heading up to the roof, figuring that's where Kim was. Alex waited a bit and headed up to the bunks after she was sure Bobby wasn't up there.  
  
"Good move Jimmy," Alex replied, noticing him sitting on the edge of his bunk.  
  
"What now?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Thanks to earlier, Bobby's on the warpath now." she replied as he turned around.  
  
"How bad?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"He's already snapped my head off, so I'd imagine any minute all hell is gonna break loose out on the roof. I've never seen him angry before but if this is any indication, I don't want to see it again." Alex replied.  
  
"He thinks she started the whole thing doesn't he?" Jimmy asked, hanging his head.  
  
"Yeah he does. But don't try and talk to him at the moment. Let him cool down, because if he would turn on you I doubt you could adequately defend yourself at the moment." Alex replied.  
  
"Come on Alex, I'm not that bad off." Jimmy retorted.  
  
"Then how come you can barely stand?" Alex questioned.  
  
Jimmy sighed heavily, knowing Alex was right and feeling bad for Kim, knowing it was his fault for setting Bobby off.  
  
When Bobby stepped out onto the roof, he saw her standing there, hair down looking out at the skyline, trembling.  
  
"What the hell were you doing down there earlier?" he ground out.  
  
"Bobby, what you saw wasn't what it looked like," Kim replied, her voice shaking slightly.  
  
"Right. So seeing my wife kissing her ex-husband is nothing now?" Bobby snapped; "I thought you were over him. Or has more than that been going on!"  
  
"You think I've been sleeping with him?! When would I have the time to Bobby! When I'm not at work, I'm home with you!" She replied angrily, feeling her blood starting to boil at his words, turning around to face him.  
  
"So you would consider it then!" he replied almost yelling at her.  
  
"I didn't say that! Why would I want to Bobby? He's none of my concern anymore!" Kim spat back.  
  
"None of your concern? You sure could have fooled me earlier!" He shot back at her.  
  
"You expect me to let the father of my son fry because of a life threatening fever? Don't even go there! I didn't see you or Alex volunteering to make sure everything was ok. There was no way he could have supported himself in there!" Kim half yelled.  
  
"Are you sure nothing else happened in there? Talk about convenient timing." Bobby asked suggestively.  
  
"Come off it Bobby! Even if we did have a thing going, do you think I'd be stupid enough to pull it off with you near the door?" Kim asked, putting extra emphasis on the word 'if'.  
  
Alex stood at the door to the roof, wincing each time she heard them exchange angry words. She headed back downstairs, when Jimmy looked towards her and said, "How bad is it up there?"  
  
"Let's just say I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that argument." She replied, taking a seat across from him, shaking her head slightly.  
  
"What is it?" Jimmy asked, seeing her reaction as she sat down.  
  
Alex sighed and looked up at him debating on whether she should repeat any of what she'd heard through the door. Deciding against it she replied, "Just wondering how long their argument is going to last."  
  
"Well its 10:15 pm so there is still time before the shift is over." Jimmy replied.  
  
Jimmy looked at Alex and knew there was something she wasn't telling him.  
  
"Alex, I know your not telling me something. What's going on?" he asked.  
  
"You know as well as I do that when you're angry things will be said that shouldn't be right?" she began to say.  
  
"What are you getting at?" Jimmy replied.  
  
"He thinks you've been sleeping with her." She replied almost inaudibly.  
  
::Back on the roof::  
  
"How do I know you two aren't doing things around the station? There has been plenty of downtime lately" He shot back.  
  
Kim couldn't believe the words she'd just heard leave Bobby's mouth. "Why the hell would I want to sleep with him! Just because he's the father of my son doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with him!"  
  
"But it gives you every reason to want to again, doesn't It." he retorted, watching her reaction to his statement.  
  
"Damn it Bobby! Why don't you just go ahead and say that I've slept with the whole station and get it over with!" Kim half yelled at him.  
  
"Would it be accurate to say that?" he spat back at her.  
  
His words sliced through her, fighting back tears as her anger continued to rise.  
  
"You actually think I'd sleep with them don't you!" She fired back, hurt clearly showing in her voice.  
  
"Well, if you can shack up with your ex behind my back, why not!" he growled, glaring at her.  
  
The force of his words hit her hard. The man she loved turning on her, for something she didn't even instigate.  
  
"If only I could have moved," she cried to herself as tears fell down her face, taking in his hurtful words.  
  
"I hope you're satisfied Bobby! Shooting me down for something I didn't even start, and justifying yourself by making false accusations of me sleeping around!" Kim fired at him as tears cascaded down her face, feeling her legs go weak from fury that had built up in her.  
  
"I know what I saw Kim! Nothing is ever going to change that! The fact that what he have together couldn't keep you from doing this behind back!" He yelled angrily, storming off towards the door.  
  
He slammed the door to the roof causing Alex to jump and Jimmy to cringe.  
  
"Don't say a word to him Jimmy." Alex whispered before Bobby went past them.  
  
It was almost time for the shift to be over so he headed straight for the bus to straighten it up so he could split as soon as it was time to go.  
  
As soon as the coast was clear, Alex said, "I'm going to go check on Kim. You stay put and leave Bobby alone to cool off."  
  
Jimmy nodded his head in response and watched Alex leave.  
  
As she slowly climbed the stairs towards the roof, wondering what all had happened between the two.  
  
Her body shook violently as she just stood there. Unable to believe what all had just been said. Her legs finally buckled and she sank to the roof, sobbing as his words echoed in her head.  
  
Alex opened the door to the roof and looked at Kim, just as she collapsed to the roof in tears. She dashed over towards her, trying to calm her down.  
  
"Ssssh, this will all blow over soon. Just calm down." Alex said, trying to comfort her distraught friend; "The shift's about over so once everyone leaves I'll take you home."  
  
Normally Alex didn't have a problem with Bobby, but right now she wanted to give him a little once over herself for not getting the facts straight before jumping all over Kim.  
  
Alex looked at her watch, checking to see how much longer it would be before they left. When it was 11:30 PM she said to Kim, "I'm going to go see if everyone's gone. Will you be ok alone?"  
  
Kim nodded her head weakly in response and Alex got up and headed to see if anyone was still around from their shift. As she went to the bunks she saw Jimmy was gone and went downstairs and saw the crew that had come on after them getting things ready for their shift. Alex hurried back up to where Kim was and said, "Come on, everyone's gone. Let's get changed and I'll take you home."  
  
Alex helped Kim up and the two walked in silence to the bunks. Alex looked at Kim and said softly, "I'll meet you downstairs. When you're ready come on down."  
  
Kim nodded her head weakly and finished changing. Putting her stuff in her locker, she touched the pictures she kept of Joey and Keira, since she wouldn't be seeing them that night, but didn't even look at the picture of Bobby. She quickly got her things together and headed down to where Alex was waiting.  
  
No other calls had come in that evening. She was glad because things would have been extremely tense especially after the fight she'd just had with Bobby. When their shift was over Bobby was the first to leave, Kim and Alex were the last, and D.K had taken Jimmy home since he was in no condition to drive.  
  
Bobby had driven down by the river to the spot that he and Matty used to come to when they were kids when their parents weren't getting along. He paced along the riverbank talking aloud to himself in Spanish; feeling the anger dissipate and his mind became full of questions and doubts.  
  
"¡El dios que pensé ella estaba sobre él! Ella tuvo cada oportunidad de volver con él antes nosotros nos juntamos. ¿Por qué ahora? ¿Qué hice para girar yola lejos?" {God I thought she was over him! She had every opportunity to get back with him before we got together. Why now? What did I do to turn her away?}  
  
He drew in a shaky breath and continued ranting to himself.  
  
"¿Cómo jamás la puedo confiar yo otra vez? Especialmente desde que todos trabajamos juntos. Qué hace decimos los niños. ¿Por qué hizo ella esto? ¿De todo el tiempo por qué ahora? Comienzo a preguntarse si obtendré jamás la imagen de su besarlo fuera de mi cabeza." {How can I ever trust her again? Especially since we all work together. What will we tell the kids? Why did she do this? Of all the times why now? I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get the image of her kissing him out of my head.}  
  
Alex had dropped Kim off at her apartment and watched her disappear inside the building before heading home. She put her keys in the dish sitting on a table near the door and redid the locks. Heading into the bedroom she turned on the radio, trying to find something to listen to that would take her mind off everything. His hurtful words still echoed in her ears, the hurt and anger evident in his voice. She finally stopped on her favorite radio station and paced back and forth across the floor thinking as the next song came on.  
  
{There's another world inside of me that you may never see.  
  
There's secrets in this life that I can't hide.  
  
Somewhere in this darkness there's a life that I can't find.  
  
Maybe it's too far away or maybe I'm just blind, maybe I'm just blind.  
  
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.  
  
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone.  
  
Everything I am and everything in me  
  
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be.  
  
I'll never let you down even if I could.  
  
I'd give up everything if only for your good.  
  
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.  
  
You can hold me when I'm scared but you won't always be there,  
  
So love me when I'm gone, love me when I'm gone  
  
When your education x-ray cannot see under my skin.  
  
I won't tell you a damn thing that I could not tell my friends.  
  
Now roaming through this darkness I'm alive but I'm alone.  
  
Part of me is fighting this but part of me is gone.  
  
So hold me when I'm here right me when I'm wrong.  
  
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone. }  
  
Not even two minutes into the song, she couldn't hold back tears any longer and collapsed on the bed, sobbing into the pillow. She looked up at the nightstand, looking at one of the pictures that had been taking of her and Bobby shortly after they'd been married, one happiest days of her life. His words still hurt her, haunting her as she cried. The fury she felt towards him was slowly going away as the words to the song played through her head. She was determined to make him see the truth as to what happened. That it wasn't her that started it. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if he weren't in it.  
  
Bobby eventually left the riverbank and drove around the city, trying to sort out his feelings. He never expected anything like this to happen and it still stunned him. He flipped on the radio looking for something to take his mind off his feelings when the next song began.  
  
{Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them  
  
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening  
  
It's like nothing I can do would distract me when  
  
I think of how I shot myself in the back again  
  
Cuz from the infinite words I can say I  
  
Put all pain you gave to me on display  
  
But didn't realize instead of setting it free I  
  
Took what I hated and made it a part of me  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
[Chorus]  
  
(And now)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be right here)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be my fear)  
  
(I can't separate)  
  
(Myself from what I've done)  
  
(Giving up a part of me)  
  
(I've let myself become you)  
  
Hearing your name the memories come back again  
  
I remember when it started happening  
  
I see you in every thought I had and then  
  
The thoughts slowly found words attached to them  
  
And I knew as they escaped away  
  
I was committing myself to them and everyday  
  
I regret saying those things cuz now I see that I  
  
Took what I hated and made it a part of me  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
[Chorus]  
  
(And now)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be right here)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be my fear)  
  
(I can't separate)  
  
(Myself from what I've done)  
  
(Giving up a part of me)  
  
(I've let myself become you)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Never goes away)  
  
(Get away from me)  
  
Give me my space back you gotta just  
  
(Go)  
  
Everything comes down the memories of  
  
(You)  
  
I kept it in but now I'm letting you  
  
(Know)  
  
I let you go so get away from  
  
(Me)  
  
Give me my space back you gotta just  
  
(Go)  
  
Everything comes down the memories of  
  
(You)  
  
I kept it but now I'm letting you  
  
(Know)  
  
I let you go  
  
(And then)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be right here)  
  
(You've become a part of me)  
  
(You'll always be my fear)  
  
(I can't separate)  
  
(Myself from what I've done)  
  
(Giving up a part of me)  
  
(I've let myself become you)}  
  
Tears stung the corners of his eyes as he listened to the words, taking them in. Driving down some deserted city streets, an occasional tear of betrayal slipping down his face. He thought about the angry words he and Kim had exchanged at work. He knew that his words had probably hurt her, but the last thing she had fired back at him kept running through his head. 'I hope you're satisfied Bobby! Shooting me down for something I didn't even start, and justifying yourself by making false accusations of me sleeping around!'. Seeing the tears cascading down her face as she made one last stand at defending herself haunting him to the core. Silently he said to himself, thinking back to the words of the song that had just gone off the radio.  
  
"¿Por qué fue ella y me lastimó como esto? Yo nunca podría hacer nada como esto a ella. La vida era perfecta antes esta noche, pero ahora todo choca hacia abajo alrededor de mí. ¿Será jamás el mismo?" {Why did she have to go and hurt me like this? I could never do anything like this to her. Life was perfect before tonight, but now everything is crashing down around me. Will it ever be the same?}  
  
Spanish Translation: {sorry I went kinda overboard w/ the spanish}  
  
¡El dios que pensé ella estaba sobre él! Ella tuvo cada oportunidad de volver con él antes nosotros nos juntamos. ¿Por qué ahora? ¿Qué hice para girar yola lejos?  
  
God I thought she was over him! She had every opportunity to get back with him before we got together. Why now? What did I do to turn her away?  
  
¿Cómo jamás la puedo confiar yo otra vez? Especialmente desde que todos trabajamos juntos. Qué hace decimos los niños. ¿Por qué hizo ella esto? ¿De todo el tiempo por qué ahora? Comienzo a preguntarse si obtendré jamás la imagen de su besarlo fuera de mi cabeza.  
  
How can I ever trust her again? Especially since we all work together. What will we tell the kids? Why did she do this? Of all the times why now? I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get the image of her kissing him out of my head.  
  
¿Por qué fue ella y me lastimó como esto? Yo nunca podría hacer nada como esto a ella. La vida era perfecta antes esta noche, pero ahora todo choca hacia abajo alrededor de mí. ¿Será jamás el mismo?  
  
Why did she have to go and hurt me like this? I could never do anything like this to her. Life was perfect before tonight, but now everything is crashing down around me. Will it ever be the same? 


	52. Nobody wants to be Lonely

Songs used in story (in order of use) {I don't own any of them either}  
  
Dreaming of You by Selena  
  
I Knew I loved You by Savage Garden  
  
Forgive Me by Evanescence  
  
Kim had left the bedroom and headed across the hall to Keira's nursery, remembering the shock of seeing her family and colleagues come together and do something special to welcome her and her daughter home. She turned on the CD player and hit a button that would randomly select the CD to be played. She sat in the rocking chair by the window looking out at the dark starlit sky as the music began.  
  
{Late at night when all the world is sleeping  
  
I stay up and think of you  
  
And I wish on a star that somewhere you are  
  
Thinking of me too  
  
Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight  
  
Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
  
Than here in my room dreaming about you and me  
  
Wonder if you ever see me  
  
And I wonder if you know I'm there  
  
If you looked in my eyes  
  
Would you see what's inside  
  
Would you even care?  
  
I just wanna hold you close  
  
But so far all I have a dreams of you  
  
So I wait for the day  
  
And the courage to say how much I love you  
  
Yes I do!  
  
I'll be dreaming of you tonight  
  
Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
  
Than here in my room dreaming about you and me  
  
Corazón  
  
I can't stop dreaming of you  
  
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti  
  
I can't stop dreaming  
  
Cómo te necesito  
  
I can't stop dreaming of you  
  
Mi amor, cómo te extraño  
  
Late at night when all the world is sleeping  
  
I stay up and think of you  
  
And I still can't believe  
  
That you came up to me and said "I love you"  
  
I love you too!  
  
Now I'm dreaming with you tonight  
  
Till tomorrow and for all of my life  
  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
  
Than here in my room dreaming of you endlessly  
  
Dreaming of you tonight  
  
Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight  
  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
  
Than here in my room I'll be dreaming of you tonight  
  
Endlessly  
  
And I'll be holding you tight  
  
Dreaming...with you...tonight! }  
  
She sat looking out at the city wondering where Bobby was, what he was thinking. Tears were threatening to fall as she remembered the night that Keira had been born. The joy that had been brought into their lives when their daughter was born would always linger on her memory. Seeing the way he interacted with his daughter was one of the most precious things she'd ever witnessed. She could still hear last thing Bobby had said to her before he'd stormed off the roof, 'I know what I saw Kim! Nothing is ever going to change that! The fact that what he have together couldn't keep you from doing this behind back!'. Silently, she called out to him, "Please come home so we can work this out. Too much has been left unsaid tonight. Hopefully we can work this out together, you and I. I could never walk away from you. The last thing I want to do is live my life without you in it."  
  
She sat hoping she'd hear the front door to the apartment open and Bobby would walk in. She closed her eyes, feeling a part of her missing with him not there with her. Sighing heavily she got up and left the nursery, curling up on the couch to wait for him.  
  
Still driving around the streets of the city, he began to think more and more about the events that had led up to tonight. Song after song played; each causing him to become more insightful, more aware as to what could have happened. Could he have misread the situation? The next song that comes over the radio opens up a whole new contemplation as to what happened.  
  
{Maybe it's intuition  
  
But some things you just don't question  
  
Like in your eyes  
  
I see my future in an instant  
  
and there it goes  
  
I think I've found my best friend  
  
I know that it might sound more than  
  
a little crazy but I believe  
  
[chorus:]  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I think I dreamed you into life  
  
I knew I loved you before I met you  
  
I have been waiting all my life  
  
There's just no rhyme or reason  
  
only this sense of completion  
  
and in your eyes  
  
I see the missing pieces  
  
I'm searching for  
  
I think I found my way home  
  
I know that it might sound more than  
  
a little crazy but I believe  
  
[repeat chorus]  
  
A thousand angels dance around you  
  
I am complete now that I found you  
  
[repeat chorus to fade]  
  
As the song ends he asks himself, "¿La podría haber besado él en vez de viceversa? ¿Podría estar pasando yo el juicio en la persona equivocada? El dios que quiero creer no la era, así que malo. Pero hay el temor que estoy equivocado, que la era. Debo hablar realmente a ella porque yo no pienso que podría soportar para no tenerla en mi vida. Ella es la madre de mi hija, mi orgullo y la alegría. La mujer más asombrosa yo he encontrado jamás en mi vida." {Could he have kissed her instead of vice versa? Could I be passing judgement on the wrong person? God I want to believe it wasn't her, so bad. But there is the fear that I'm wrong, that it was her. I should really talk to her because I don't think I could bear to not have her in my life. She's the mother of my daughter, my pride and joy. The most amazing woman I've ever met in my life.}  
  
Kim looked at the clock on the VCR and got up to try and get some sleep. She didn't have to work till Monday but knew she couldn't go on too much longer with no sleep. But how could she rest? She felt so alone with him not there. She couldn't imagine what his reaction to everything had been. How hurt he must have been seeing Jimmy kissing her, but all she wanted to do now was to work things out with him and get some rest.  
  
Bobby glanced down at the clock on the dashboard; it read 7:30 am. The sun had already risen; sunlight bouncing off the massive skyscrapers that dotted the skyline. He headed back to their apartment, knowing what he had to do.  
  
"He obtenido para hablar a ella, hay ninguna otra manera alrededor de lo. Si era su hacer yo merezco por lo menos una explicación, pero si lo era entonces quiero oírlo de ella de cualquier manera la verdad se sabrá." {I've got to talk to her; there's no other way around it. If it was her doing I at least deserve an explanation, but if it was him then I want to hear it from her either way the truth will be known.}  
  
As morning came, Kim retreated to change and try and get some sleep, praying Bobby would show up. She'd finished changing and was sitting against the headboard of the bed with her knees up to her chest, unable to sleep. She had so much she wanted to tell him, there was no way she'd be able to get any sleep until this was resolved. Several tears had made there way down her face, her eyes still bloodshot and the streaks that had run down her face still evident from earlier. The radio was still playing and the song that began gave her a new resolve to keep going.  
  
{Can you forgive me again?, I don't know what I said, But I didn't mean to hurt you}  
  
Bobby pulled up in front of their building, sun high in the sky as he entered and headed for their apartment, hoping to find Kim there so they could try and resolve everything that's happened. In his mind he hoped he'd hear her say that she hadn't started all this. In his heart he knew he didn't want to lose her. If what she said on the roof was true, that it wasn't her that instigated this, he knew he owed her an apology. As he sat and thought back to the angry words they'd exchanged, he couldn't believe he'd even said some of the things he'd said to her. And poor Alex, telling him fighting with her wouldn't solve anything. She was right; it just hurt both of them even more. He began to wonder what she'd done all night long.  
  
{I heard the words come out, I felt like I would die, It hurt so much to hurt you}  
  
She remained in bed, deep in thought when she thought she heard something. Could it be? Could he have finally come home? The second she heard the door open, her heart just about stopped. Then her mind filled with the thoughts of the fight they'd had on the roof. She prayed this wouldn't be a continuation of that. If it was she doubted she could handle going through that yet again. The first time was hard enough; she didn't want a second dose of it.  
  
{Then you look at me, You're not shouting anymore, You're silently broken}  
  
As he went to unlock the door to their apartment, he wondered if she was even here at all. If she wasn't it wouldn't be that much of a surprise to him, especially after everything that has happened. As he opened the door he looked around the living room, seeing no trace of her, no lights were on or anything. Complete and utter silence met his ears. Not seeing her as he walked in the door, he headed down the hall towards the nursery.  
  
{I'd give anything now, to hear those words from you, Each time I say something I regret I cry "I don't want to lose you.", But somehow I know that you will never leave me, yeah.}  
  
She heard footsteps coming down the hall towards her. A thousand thoughts raced through her head, wondering what would happen next. Had he accomplished what he set out to do by being out all night long? Would everything work out? She would soon have the answers to all her questions.  
  
{Cause you were made for me, Somehow I'll make you see, How happy you make me, I can't live this life, Without you by my side, I need you to survive}  
  
He looked in the nursery first and saw it empty. Did she leave? Or were the kid's with her mom? He turned and looked across the hall, finding her curled up against the headboard. Her forehead resting on her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs. He couldn't see her face, because of the way her hair hung down. Ever so slowly he made his way towards her, not wanting to startle her accidentally. Although he was pretty sure she knew that he was there.  
  
{So stay with me, You look in my eyes and I'm screaming inside that I'm sorry.}  
  
She heard him enter the room and fresh tears appeared in her eyes, not having even looked up at him. She felt herself starting to tremble, thinking back to everything that had happened thus far. She wept silently, hoping things would turn out the way she hoped they would, when she felt the bed move as he sat down beside her.  
  
{And you forgive me again, You're my one true friend, And I never meant to hurt you}  
  
He took his right hand and placed it under her chin, raising her head to look into his eyes. Looking at her face, he took in her appearance, realizing it had been just as hard on her as it had been on him. He could tell she hadn't had any sleep, on top of having blood shot eyes and streaks running down her cheeks from crying. He finally decided to ask her who had initiated everything that had occurred the previous night at the firehouse.  
  
"He initiated the kiss didn't he?" Bobby asked softly, wiping the tears away from her face gently. He searched her face for an answer, praying he heard what he was hoping to hear.  
  
Her body trembed as she felt him lift her head up to where she was looking into his eyes. She was afraid. Afraid of seeing the same anger and hurt that had been in his eyes during their fight. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. All she could do was nod her head yes to reply that Jimmy had initiated the whole thing, not her. She saw a look of relief pass through him at her response. She saw tears forming in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her forehead against his chest, silently releasing the fears she'd been harboring the past twenty-four hours. Feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted from her, especially when he tightened his arms around her shuddering form.  
  
He held her close, not ever wanting to let go of her again. He felt her crying against his chest and whispered comforting words in her ear. Tears made their way down his face as the fear and anxiety he'd held within him all night came out, as did hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, hugging him tightly not wanting to let go. He rested his head on her shoulder, feeling her trembling a bit as she cried and gently began to rub her back, letting her know everything would be ok.  
  
She looked over at him and managed to rasp out an 'I'm sorry' in between the shaky breaths she took in as she cried. She heard him respond, "You've got nothing to be sorry for baby." He gently turned her head towards his and placed a loving kiss on her lips, as fresh tears of happiness and relief made there way down her face, at the fact that everything was going to be ok. As he hugged her close he whispered into her ear,  
  
"Soy Kim arrepentido. Soy arrepentido que yo le dije esas cosas dañosas a usted. Debo haber escuchado y debo haber creído en usted cuando usted dijo mí que lo no era usted que comenzó el todo. Espero que usted lo pueda encontrar en su corazón para perdonarme para dijo esas cosas atroces." {I'm sorry Kim. I'm sorry I said those hurtful things to you. I should have listened and believed in you when you told me that it wasn't you that started everything. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for having said those awful things.}  
  
As she drifted off to sleep after having finally resolved everything that had been keeping her awake, Bobby gently kissed her on the forehead and said softly, "  
  
Usted es la mujer más asombrosa yo he encontrado jamás. Dudo que podría vivir sin usted en mi vida. El uno que me dio una hija hermosa. El amor de mi vida. Yo no sé lo que mi vida estaría como sin usted en ello, pero espero que yo nunca tenga que encontrar eso fuera. Usted ha traído tanto alegría a mi vida, yo odio pensar que qué cosas habrían estado como si usted y yo nunca había encontrado. Duerma bien mi querido, instruido que yo nunca lo saldré otra vez." {You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. I doubt I could live without you in my life. The one who gave me a beautiful daughter. The love of my life. I don't know what my life would be like without you in it, but I hope I never have to find that out. You have brought so much joy to my life; I hate to think what things would have been like if you and I had never met. Sleep well my darling, knowing that I will never leave you again.}  
  
He felt his eyes starting to get heavy, everything that had occurred catching up with him. He didn't care he still had his clothes on from earlier. Instead he curled up along side Kim, taking her left hand into his. He listened to her rhythmic breathing pattern, sighing with relief that everything had been worked out between them. As he drifted off to sleep beside her, he raised her left hand and gently kissed the top of her hand and said softly,  
  
"Yo lo amo tanto. Gracias para perdonarme. Usted no tiene la menor idea cuán especial usted está a mí. Cuánto usted ha cambiado mi vida para el mejor. Yo no podría haber encontrado que un más perfecciona a mujer para hacer a mi esposa que usted." {I love you so much. Thank you for forgiving me. You have no idea how special you are to me. How much you've changed my life for the better. I couldn't have found a more perfect woman to make my wife than you.}  
  
Spanish Translation: {sorry I went kinda overboard w/ the spanish}  
  
¿La podría haber besado él en vez de viceversa? ¿Podría estar pasando yo el juicio en la persona equivocada? El dios que quiero creer no la era, así que malo. Pero hay el temor que estoy equivocado, que la era. Debo hablar realmente a ella porque yo no pienso que podría soportar para no tenerla en mi vida. Ella es la madre de mi hija, mi orgullo y la alegría. La mujer más asombrosa yo he encontrado jamás en mi vida.  
  
Could he have kissed her instead of vice versa? Could I be passing judgement on the wrong person? God I want to believe it wasn't her, so bad. But there is the fear that I'm wrong, that it was her. I should really talk to her because I don't think I could bear to not have her in my life. She's the mother of my daughter, my pride and joy. The most amazing woman I've ever met in my life.  
  
He obtenido para hablar a ella, hay ninguna otra manera alrededor de lo. Si era su hacer yo merezco por lo menos una explicación, pero si lo era entonces quiero oírlo de ella de cualquier manera la verdad se sabrá.  
  
I've got to talk to her; there's no other way around it. If it was her doing I at least deserve an explanation, but if it was him then I want to hear it from her either way the truth will be known.  
  
Soy Kim arrepentido. Soy arrepentido que yo le dije esas cosas dañosas a usted. Debo haber escuchado y debo haber creído en usted cuando usted dijo mí que lo no era usted que comenzó el todo. Espero que usted lo pueda encontrar en su corazón para perdonarme para dijo esas cosas atroces.  
  
I'm sorry Kim. I'm sorry I said those hurtful things to you. I should have listened and believed in you when you told me that it wasn't you that started everything. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for having said those awful things.  
  
Usted es la mujer más asombrosa yo he encontrado jamás. Dudo que podría vivir sin usted en mi vida. El uno que me dio una hija hermosa. El amor de mi vida. Yo no sé lo que mi vida estaría como sin usted en ello, pero espero que yo nunca tenga que encontrar eso fuera. Usted ha traído tanto alegría a mi vida, yo odio pensar que qué cosas habrían estado como si usted y yo nunca había encontrado. Duerma bien mi querido, instruido que yo nunca lo saldré otra vez.  
  
You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. I doubt I could live without you in my life. The one who gave me a beautiful daughter. The love of my life. I don't know what my life would be like without you in it, but I hope I never have to find that out. You have brought so much joy to my life; I hate to think what things would have been like if you and I had never met. Sleep well my darling, knowing that I will never leave you again.  
  
Yo lo amo tanto. Gracias para perdonarme. Usted no tiene la menor idea cuán especial usted está a mí. Cuánto usted ha cambiado mi vida para el mejor. Yo no podría haber encontrado que un más perfecciona a mujer para hacer a mi esposa que usted.  
  
I love you so much. Thank you for forgiving me. You have no idea how special you are to me. How much you've changed my life for the better. I couldn't have found a more perfect woman to make my wife than you. 


	53. Complicated

That evening when Alex got home, all she could think about was the little talk she was going to have with Bobby on Monday. She didn't want to go over or call and chew his ass out for not having listened to her. She did call Jimmy however to see how he was doing. After talking with him briefly he asked her to come over so they could talk face to face, she didn't know about what but thought it might have had to do with something this afternoon. When she arrived the door was already unlocked and she heard him say "Come on in," when he heard her raps at the door. When she opened the door and got a look at him, he looked much better than he had earlier that evening.  
  
"My don't you look better," Alex said as she shut the door behind her.  
  
"I feel much better too. I don't know what I would have done if Kim hadn't talked some sense into me to get me off the roof. I also owe you a thank you for helping her with me." He replied.  
  
"What? You think I'd abandon my partner? No way in hell buddy." She replied smiling as she sat down next to him on the couch.  
  
"That's always good to know," Jimmy said chuckling; "I still can't believe though that Brooke would do that to me. I guess it's a good thing that happened while we are engaged because now I'm definitely not going to marry her."  
  
"You two are calling it quits?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, I don't want to have to second guess myself wondering if she's messing around when I'm not there. I know what that's like thanks to my own stupidity and saw it with Kim." He replied softly.  
  
Alex nodded her head in approval and noticed he seemed to be thinking about something and asked, "What's running through that head of yours?"  
  
Her words brought him out of space and back to reality and said, "Oh just wondering about something that's all."  
  
"Wanna share?" she asked.  
  
Jimmy took in a slow deep breath and said, "Truth is Alex, ever since the staged kiss you and I shared to fool Craig I can't stop thinking about you. Ever since then I've been wracking my brain to see if there would be any possibility that if we did get together would things would work out."  
  
Alex sat stunned at Jimmy's words. She'd been feeling the same way but suppressed the feelings since at the time he had been engaged. She'd given a little bit of thought to hooking up with him but decided on no definite answer as of yet.  
  
He noticed the look of shock on her face and said, "Did I say something to upset you?"  
  
"No. I've been in the same position too. I never expected to feel like that after we kissed either but it was truly amazing." Alex replied, not knowing what else to say at the moment.  
  
"You don't have to answer now, but I would like to give things a shot with you. That is if you agree to it. Feel free to think it over and let me know what you decide." He said softly.  
  
Alex had never expected to have Jimmy tell her that he'd like to go out with her, especially the same day he found his fiancé cheating on him. What woman wouldn't want to go out with him? "I will think it over and let you know what I decide." She replied, her head spinning with everything that had just happened.  
  
The two talked for about fifteen more minutes before Alex left. It was getting rather late and Jimmy needed his rest.  
  
"I'd better head out since its getting late. You need your rest. Do you need anything before I leave?" Alex asked.  
  
"I'll be fine." He replied, getting up and walking her to the door.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you later then," Alex replied, looking over her shoulder at him.  
  
"Take care Alex. I'll see you on Monday." Jimmy said back to her as she headed down the hall.  
  
He slowly headed back into his room to go to bed since it was late and he was tired. Alex on the other hand tossed and turned all night long, debating on whether or not she should accept Jimmy's proposition. She thought all weekend long about that and when Monday rolled around still hadn't made a final decision yet. She walked into the station and saw Kim coming downstairs.  
  
"Hey Kim," Alex said as she came in.  
  
"Hey, you're with me today. Bobby's got the day off." Kim replied, heading out to the bus.  
  
"Ok, I'll be out as soon as I change." Alex said back, rushing upstairs, hoping to avoid Jimmy till she made up her mind.  
  
Alex quickly changed and helped Kim with inventory and they set out driving around waiting for a call and talking back and forth.  
  
"You and Bobby get everything worked out?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah we did. All he needed to do was cool off a bit and then we were able to work things out." Kim replied.  
  
"How long did the cooling off thing take? If you don't mind me asking." Alex questioned.  
  
"From the time he left the station till 7:30 Saturday morning," Kim replied.  
  
"Wow, what did you do the whole time?" Alex asked shocked.  
  
"Seeing as how I was the only one in the apartment all I could do was worry myself to death till he came back." Kim replied, remembering the events of last Friday.  
  
"Where was Bobby at?" Alex questioned.  
  
"I assume driving around the city trying to clear his head. He never told me what he did after work, then again I never really asked because we had so much other stuff to work through." Kim said in response.  
  
"So you have any potential boyfriend prospects lined up?" Kim asked curiously, changing the subject off the fight last week.  
  
"Possibly, nothing definite yet though." Alex replied feeling a bit nervous about talking to Kim about her ex husband, especially since she wasn't sure how she'd react.  
  
"Oh really, gimme details." Kim said anxiously.  
  
"Well he's drop dead gorgeous that's for sure, amazing body and everything. But I'm afraid things will be weird." Alex said nervously, feeling extremely awkward about talking about Jimmy.  
  
Kim noticed Alex was acting strange and said, "Weird? How so?"  
  
"I can't describe it, it's this feeling I have. I want to go out with him but I'm afraid things will get complicated." She replied; "We were talking this weekend and he totally got me off guard when he told me he'd like to see how things would work out."  
  
"Does this potential boyfriend have a name?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
Alex never answered and Kim decided to go out on a limb and guess to see if her hunch was right.  
  
"Is it Jimmy?" she asked curiously.  
  
Alex just about fell out of the seat in shock and said, "How did you know!"  
  
"Come on Alex I know you. If it were any other guy I wouldn't be able to get you to keep quiet about the person." Kim said smiling.  
  
"Good point." Alex said laughing; "So you're not mad about me wanting to go out with your ex husband?"  
  
"Why would I be mad? If you want to start a relationship with him that's fine, I don't have a problem with it. You know what his past track record of relationships has been but after this incident with Brooke I imagine he's probably changed for the better. But if he does anything to hurt you I will have to hurt him." Kim replied smiling.  
  
Alex laughed; relieved Kim didn't have a problem with her possibly going out with her ex husband.  
  
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that you wouldn't have a problem with it if we did get together." Alex said.  
  
"Has he asked you out yet?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yeah, Saturday morning. He told me I could think about it though which is all I did all weekend. Didn't get much sleep either." Alex replied.  
  
"Have you made your decision yet?" Kim asked.  
  
"I think I have." Alex said smiling.  
  
"Good. So you gonna give it a shot?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"I think I am. I'll talk to him when we get back to the station." Alex replied.  
  
After having very few calls come in they eventually returned to the firehouse and when Kim and Alex came in they saw Jimmy headed in their direction.  
  
"Knock him dead," Kim whispered in Alex's ear as she left the two alone for a while to go call and check on Bobby and the kids.  
  
"Hey Alex, how have you been?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Pretty good, how bout you?" Alex replied, feeling butterflies forming in her stomach.  
  
"About the same. So have you given any thought to what we talked about?" he asked curiously. 


	54. Unexpected

"I have actually and I'm all for giving it a shot if you are." Alex replied.  
  
"You are?" he asked astonished.  
  
"Yeah," she said smiling.  
  
"Well about we go out for a late dinner tonight after work then." Jimmy suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Alex said, seeing the happiness cross his face.  
  
"Would you mind if I kissed you right now?" he asked.  
  
"No I wouldn't mind a bit." Alex replied.  
  
Jimmy had been sitting on the front of one of the fire trucks and Alex had been standing in front of him. He slipped his arms around her waist and moved her to where she was standing in between his legs as they came together and kissed. Kim was still talking to Bobby on her cell phone and was standing at the top of the stairs and figured Alex had accepted Jimmy's proposition.  
  
"It looks like the 55 has another couple in the house." Kim said as she headed up to her bunk.  
  
"Really who?" Bobby asked as he put Keira down in the crib after changing her.  
  
"Jimmy and Alex." Kim replied.  
  
"When did they get together?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Tonight I think. He'd asked her out Saturday but she gave him her answer I'm assuming about five minutes ago." Kim replied.  
  
"I take it she agreed then?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Well seeing as how they are kissing on the fire truck I'd say so." Kim said laughing.  
  
"That would be a pretty good indicator for a yes." Bobby said in return, laughing also.  
  
"Gotta run, a call just came in. I'll see you when I get off." Kim replied, heading downstairs.  
  
"Ok, Love you and I'll see you when you get home." Bobby said back to her.  
  
"I love you too." Kim said, before hanging up her phone.  
  
She and Alex arrived a short time later at a park not to far from where their apartment was located. The found a teenage boy who had fallen out of a tree trying to get the family cat which was up in the tree.  
  
Alex saw the boys friends gathered around and said, "So what were you doing up in the tree?"  
  
"Trying to get my cat out. I brought her out to show my friends because I just got her yesterday and a dog scared her and she ran up the tree and I was trying to get her but fell and hurt my ankle." The boy replied as Alex tended to his ankle.  
  
"Do you live near by?" Alex asked, seeing several complexes around the park.  
  
"Yeah, just across the street." The boy replied, searching the tree for his cat.  
  
Kim monitored the boy's vitals while Alex stabilized his ankle in a splint.  
  
"Could one of you try and get Lucky out of the tree?" the boy asked, not wanting to leave till his cat was taken care of.  
  
"We can try and coax her out." Alex said noticing the dogs were gone and seeing the boy relax a bit.  
  
Kim looked up into the tree and saw a gray furball huddled on one of the branches and said, "Come here Lucky, you can come down now."  
  
They heard a soft meow and Kim kept talking to the cat noticing it was moving ever so slightly lower till it was about 3 feet above her head. After five minutes of coaxing the cat crouched down like it was going to spring off the branch and Kim heard Alex say, "You'd better catch the cat if it jumps."  
  
Sure enough the cat leapt from the branch and landed on Kim, sinking its claws into her uniform.  
  
"Ok Lucky, easy on the claws." Kim said, feeling the cat's claws through her uniform top before she picked her up to loosen the hold the cat's claws had on her top.  
  
The cat looked up at Kim with yellow green eyes and rubbed its head against her cheek several times as she knelt down next to the cat's owner.  
  
"Looks like you've made a new friend Kim," Alex said laughing, watching the cat's actions.  
  
Kim had to laugh and scratched under the gray tabby's chin hearing a rumbling purr of happiness at the action. The cat's fur was like crushed velvet in texture and she missed having pets, maybe eventually she'd get another one but was content to spoil this one till she had to help Alex get the boy into the ambulance. She passed the cat to the boy as they loaded him into the ambulance when the boy said, "Could you take her up to my mom who's in our apartment across the street?", pointing to the complex right across from the bus.  
  
"Sure, what apartment number do you live in and I'll take her up there." Kim said picking Lucky up once more.  
  
"3c." the boy replied.  
  
"I'll be back in a second Alex." Kim said as she headed across the street with Lucky, purring contently in her arms.  
  
Kim headed up to the third floor of the complex and knocked on the door to apartment 3C.  
  
"Can I help you?" A middle aged woman asked, cracking the door.  
  
"I believe I have a little gray cat that belongs to you." Kim replied; "Your son fell out of a tree trying to get her down when a dog scared her."  
  
"Oh my gosh Jeremiah! Is he ok?" The woman asked anxiously.  
  
"He's fine just hurt his ankle, we will have to take him to the hospital though. You can come with us." Kim said, handing the cat over to the boy's mother. The woman put the cat in one of the rooms and made sure there was food and water left out and followed Kim down to where her son was.  
  
After they took the boy to the hospital they stopped by and checked on Bobby and the kids to see how things were going.  
  
"Mind if we stop by and check on Bobby and the kids?" Kim asked Alex as the left the hospital.  
  
"I don't mind a bit. Things are so slow it beats going back to the station and driving around town in circles." Alex replied smiling.  
  
Keira had just begun to cry and Bobby had just warmed up a bottle for her since it was time for her next feeding. After checking to make sure the bottle wasn't too hot, he headed into the nursery. Joey had heard her crying and had come in to check on her when he saw Bobby come in. He passed the bottle and towel to Joey to hold while he picked her up and proceeded to sit down. Once he was situated he started to bottle feed her when he heard a knock at the door.  
  
"Can you get that for me?" Bobby asked Joey.  
  
Joey nodded his head in reply and rushed to the door to see who it was. As he opened the door he was surprised to see his mom and Alex on the other side.  
  
"Mom! Did you get off early?" Joey asked excitedly, giving his mother a hug.  
  
"No sweetheart, we were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by since things are slow." Kim replied as she and Alex entered the apartment.  
  
"Hi Alex!" Joey said brightly as his mother closed the door to the apartment.  
  
"How have you been Joey?" Alex asked as she took a seat on the sofa.  
  
"Pretty good. Mostly helping out with Keira." He replied, taking a seat next to Alex.  
  
Kim headed down the hall to check on Keira and Bobby while Alex and Joey talked away in the living room.  
  
"Hey," Kim said softly as she entered the room.  
  
Bobby looked up in surprise to see Kim coming through the doorway and said smiling, "To what do I owe this pleasure of a sudden visit?"  
  
"A very slow night at the firehouse," she replied, crouching down next to where he sat.  
  
Joey eventually headed back to his room to play his gameboy and Alex headed in to see how Bobby and the baby were doing.  
  
"Where did the fur come from?" Bobby asked, noticing the gray hairs on Kim's top.  
  
"Got to get a cat out of a tree for a kid who fell trying to get it out himself." Kim replied, brushing the hair off her top.  
  
"Why didn't you let Jimmy do that? Isn't that normally what they do?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I never said I climbed the tree to get the cat silly. I coaxed it down and it jumped on me. Friendly little devil too." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"It was so cute, it was giving her lovies and everything." Alex chimed in smirking from the doorway.  
  
"Lovies?" Bobby asked laughing; "Lemme guess now you want a cat right?"  
  
"Eventually yes. I used to have one growing up so it'd be nice to have another one." Kim said laughing at Alex's choice of words.  
  
"What exactly are lovies?" Bobby asked smirking.  
  
"All the cat did was rub its head against my cheek when I carried it over to its owner, I guess that's what Alex is referring to." Kim said noticing the amused look on Alex's face.  
  
Kim got up and went in to check on Joey and left Bobby and Alex still talking in the nursery.  
  
"Hey there sweetie, how's the game coming?" she asked sitting next to him.  
  
"I'm slowly working my way through it. I thought Tetris was bad, but this one can be just as troublesome as that one." Joey replied as he sat up.  
  
"I happen to be pretty good at Tetris, play you a round when I get off?" she asked her son; "Have you and your sister been behaving?"  
  
"You're on. Yep. We've been good." Joey replied smiling.  
  
"I'd better go, I'll see you when I get off in four hours." She said, patting him on the back as she got up.  
  
"Ok. See you when you get home." Joey replied, watching her head back down the hall.  
  
While Kim was gone Bobby asked Alex, "So what did this cat look like? I might surprise her for her birthday and get her one."  
  
"It was a silver gray tabby. Its fur was a silver color and the spots it had were a dark storm cloud gray color with a black tipped tail." Alex replied noticing Kim headed back down the hall.  
  
Bobby nodded his head and heard Kim say, "We'd better be heading out. I'll see you when I get off work."  
  
She and Alex headed to the door and Bobby followed with Keira and said, "You two stay out of trouble. You want me to come pick you up after work?"  
  
"If you want to you can, just leave me a voice mail on my phone before you leave so I know to wait on you." Kim said.  
  
"Sounds good. See you in about four hours then," he replied kissing her goodbye before she left.  
  
As she and Alex headed back to the station the two of them sat chattering back and forth on the ride back.  
  
"So I take it you and Jimmy are together now?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yep, we're going out for a late dinner when we get off tonight." Alex replied, thinking about the invitation for dinner.  
  
Kim smiled and said, "Incase I don't see you before you leave, you two have a good time tonight."  
  
"I'm pretty sure we will." Alex said in return as they pulled into the station.  
  
Alex sat down outside the firehouse and Kim asked, "You gonna stay out here for a bit?"  
  
"Yeah, it's a nice quiet night so I thought I'd chill out here for a bit." She replied.  
  
"Ok, if you need me I'll be upstairs." Kim said, heading up towards the bunks.  
  
Alex nodded her head in reply and relaxed in the cool night air of the city for a while. As Kim walked upstairs Jimmy saw her and asked, "Where's Alex?"  
  
"Downstairs," Kim replied, watching him head in her direction.  
  
She grabbed a book from her bag in her locker and started reading for a bit until it was time to start inventory on the rig. An hour before her shift was up she checked to see if Bobby had left her a voice mail on her phone. After listening to the message he'd left she put the book back into her locker and slipped her phone back in her pocket and went to start on inventory. Jimmy and Alex were liplocked so she managed to slip past them unnoticed outside.  
  
As she worked on inventory she realized that it was a quiet and peaceful night around the city. Those days were few and far between so it was nice when they came. A short time later Alex appeared to help with inventory, Jimmy following close behind her. He blushed when he saw Kim already working and figured she'd seen them together on her way down. Kim heard footsteps coming and looked up, seeing them headed in her direction.  
  
"Why didn't you come get me to help you?" Alex asked, climbing into the rig.  
  
"I didn't want to interrupt." Kim replied, finishing the gauze count.  
  
Alex looked at Jimmy, seeing him blushing and said, "Jimmy, she already knew about us before she saw us kissing."  
  
A look of disbelief crossed his face as he said, "You did?"  
  
"Yep," She replied, glancing up from the paper she had.  
  
Jimmy eventually left to get ready for the end of his shift and Alex and Kim finished up inventory and headed to change. As the shift came to an end, Kim got her stuff ready and turned to Alex and said, "I expect details next time I talk to you."  
  
"You got it," Alex replied smiling, walking downstairs with her where Jimmy was waiting.  
  
As Alex and Jimmy headed off, Kim moved in the direction of where Bobby was parked waiting on her.  
  
"Where are the kids?" she asked as she climbed into the car.  
  
"Mel stopped by to see Keira and said she stay till I got back." He replied, "Any calls come in after you two left earlier?"  
  
"Nope it was dead for four hours," Kim replied.  
  
"I made a light dinner, which Joey tore into. When I left he was practicing for the Tetris battle that is to take place." Bobby said smiling.  
  
"What did you fix?" Kim asked curiously, laughing at Joey getting ready for the round of video games.  
  
"Chicken Pasta salad." Bobby replied.  
  
"That sounds good. Joey loves anything with chicken in it," she said smiling.  
  
"I gathered by the way he ate tonight," He said in response, chuckling.  
  
"Chances are you'll be making that again too because he'll probably beg you to death to make it again." Kim replied grinning.  
  
"He did that when I fixed Beef Stroganoff, if I remember correctly." Bobby said as they headed home.  
  
"Yeah, I remember. You were about ready to go nuts too." Kim said laughing.  
  
Bobby rolled his eyes at her and replied, "I didn't realize he was going to be that persistent. You could have warned me."  
  
"I could have but your reaction was priceless so I'm glad I didn't." Kim responded giggling as they pulled up in front of the apartment complex.  
  
"You keep this up you won't get any pasta salad." Bobby said jokingly.  
  
"You wouldn't dare try it." Kim replied, grinning.  
  
"What makes you so sure about that?" he asked curiously, slipping an arm around her waist as they headed to their apartment.  
  
"Because you love me and wouldn't have the heart to do that." Kim said smiling, leaning into him as they walked.  
  
"You're right. I do love you, very much. But you'd be surprised at what I have the heart to do sometimes." Bobby replied snickering. 


	55. Live Wire

A/N- to tkd_lcb: e-mail me and I'll answer your question. Also this chapter is kinda different from all the others, but trust me with the stuff that's coming later that I've been working on I needed a break and did this one. [You'll see why soon]  
  
~~~  
  
Kim rolled her eyes at Bobby's remark and came up with the perfect comeback but decided to wait till later to say it.  
  
"What no comeback tonight?" he asked comically.  
  
"Oh I've got one all right, but I'm not saying it out here." Kim replied grinning as they headed up the stairs.  
  
"And you say my mind is in the gutter?" he retorted with a laugh, pinching her sides.  
  
"¿Qué es con hombres? Perdóneme si estoy equivocado pero he oído que todo usted tipos piensan acerca de es el sexo. ¿Eso es una declaración exacta?" Kim asked innocently on their way down the corridor. {What is it with men? Forgive me if I'm wrong but I've heard that all you guys think about is sex. Is that an accurate statement?}  
  
"No todos hombres están como que y dependen de cuando usted pregunta por lo." Bobby replied, laughing silently at her question. {Not all men are like that and it depends on when you ask about it.}  
  
When they entered their apartment, Melanie was sitting on the couch playing with Keira while Joey was getting ready for the Tetris battle.  
  
"Hey Mel, what's up?" Kim asked.  
  
"Not much, just spoiling my niece." Melanie replied smiling.  
  
Kim laughed as she went to put her stuff in their room, Bobby following close behind her.  
  
"Have you thought about what you're wearing to the annual station Halloween party in a little over four weeks?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yep, already ordered my costume. But you don't get to see it till the day of the party because I know what you'll say." Kim replied smirking.  
  
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked as they headed back out to where Melanie, Joey and Keira were.  
  
"Have you ever seen Star Wars Return of the Jedi?" she asked.  
  
Bobby thought for a second before replying and said, "Nope, don't think I have."  
  
"Then you wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about if I told you what I was going as." She replied.  
  
"How soon will this outfit arrive so I know when I have to turn the apartment upside down to see what it looks like?" he asked chuckling.  
  
Kim sat down next to Melanie on the couch, shaking her head at Bobby as he went to get dinner out of the fridge.  
  
"What were you two talking about?" Mel asked.  
  
"The Halloween party that the station throws each year. We all get to dress up for it. Bobby was asking what I was going as." Kim replied.  
  
"Are you finally gonna pull the Princess Leia deal?" Mel asked softly, since she assumed Kim didn't want Bobby to hear.  
  
"Yep, and its not the white outfit either." Kim replied smirking.  
  
Melanie broke out in a fit of laughter realizing the outfit her sister was talking about and said, "You do realize you'll be the life of the party in that don't you?"  
  
"Aren't I always?" Kim asked seeing Bobby coming back in the room.  
  
"Aren't you always what?" Bobby asked taking a seat with them.  
  
"Aren't I always the life of the party." Kim asked.  
  
"I must say yes to that one." He replied grinning.  
  
"At the party then you better keep your eye on her then because if she's talking about what I'm thinking about then its gonna be interesting." Mel said trying not to laugh.  
  
"Oh really, you already know what the mystery outfit is?" Bobby asked curiously.  
  
"I have my guesses but if my hunch is correct and we're on the same wave length it will be a very interesting evening." Mel replied; "I'd better be heading out it's getting late. See you two later."  
  
After Melanie left, Joey looked at his mom and asked, "You ready for our Tetris battle?"  
  
"Lemme eat dinner real quick and then we'll start ok?" Kim replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll practice some more till your ready," Joey said, focusing on the game once more.  
  
Kim got up and headed into the kitchen and fixed a plate for herself and warmed it up. A short time later Bobby came in and asked, "We taking the kids to the party too?"  
  
"We might as well, Joey went last year and had fun so I imagine Keira would love it." Kim replied.  
  
"What will they go as?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I was thinking for Keira either Minnie Mouse or Belle from Beauty and the Beast. For Joey, that's up to him to decide." Kim replied; "What are you going as?"  
  
"Either of those would be cute." Bobby said as she sat down to eat; "I'm leaning towards a ninja but not 100% sure yet."  
  
Joey heard them talking and came in and asked, "What are you two talking about?"  
  
"The annual Halloween party the station throws every year. You want to go again this year?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yeah! Those are always fun to go to." Joey replied smiling.  
  
"Better get started on picking out your costume since its four weeks away." Bobby said.  
  
"I think I've already got it figured out." Joey responded happily.  
  
"Really, what do you have in mind?" Kim asked.  
  
"Harry Potter or the Scream character." Joey replied.  
  
"Let us know soon so we can get whatever we need to order for your costume so everything will be here on time." Kim said, quickly finishing up dinner so she and her son could go head to head in Tetris.  
  
"You ready?" Kim asked, heading back towards her son.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," Joey replied grinning.  
  
Joey started out doing rather well but as time went on starting getting frustrated and began making mistakes during the game. To Kim this game was a piece of cake. She'd always liked mind games and this was the perfect one. Bobby watched how things went and about an hour into the battle said, "Hey Joey want me to give it a shot and see if we can take her down?"  
  
"Sure, I've never been able to beat her on this." Joey said switching places with Bobby.  
  
Kim let Bobby practice for a bit and ten minutes later the battle began. When they started it seemed like Bobby was the natural at this game.  
  
"Have you ever played this before?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Nope, this is the first." He replied, beating Kim again.  
  
"Rather impressive for a first timer," Kim said smirking.  
  
Thirty minutes into their duel Joey just about fell asleep on the couch. Bobby looked over at him and said, "Why don't you go get ready for bed before you fall asleep."  
  
"I think I will," Joey replied yawning.  
  
He gave his mother and Bobby a hug goodnight and headed off for a shower before he went to bed.  
  
"Wanna keep going or call it a night on video games?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Let's call it. I don't think I could take much more of it anyway." Kim replied, getting ready to get up off the floor.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked curiously.  
  
"To check on Keira, and make sure Joey's in bed," she replied.  
  
She headed in and found her daughter sleeping peacefully. As she headed towards Joey's room she noticed the light still on under the door and said, "I thought you were tired?"  
  
"I am, I was just getting ready to turn it out." Joey replied, quickly turning off his game boy.  
  
Kim opened the door to the room and heard a drawer close and grinned and said, "I think someone was playing with a game boy instead of sleeping."  
  
Joey began to laugh as Kim came over and turned the light off and said, "Get to sleep or else you're getting up extra early in the morning."  
  
"Night mom," he said smiling, curling up under the blankets.  
  
"See you in the morning sweetheart." She replied, closing the door behind her.  
  
She headed back towards their room and quickly changed clothes.  
  
"Kids asleep?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yep, Keira's been out for a good while, Joey's just getting there because he was playing with the game boy instead of sleeping." Kim replied back laughing.  
  
"Little sneak," Bobby said chuckling.  
  
"Tell me about it. I had to tell him if he didn't get to bed he was going to be getting up really early." Kim replied grinning, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.  
  
"We'd better be going to bed too, I have a feeling work is going to be rough tomorrow." Bobby commented.  
  
"If you jinx us, I'm telling everyone in the station it was your fault." She replied snickering.  
  
He rolled his eyes at her and said jokingly, "You've jinxed your fair share of shifts too, so don't even start."  
  
"Have not!" she replied giggling.  
  
"Buenas noches Kimmy. No permita la mordedura de chinches." He said, pinching her sides at the same time. {Goodnight Kimmy. Don't let the bedbugs bite.}  
  
"Yo no pienso es los chinches que tengo que preocuparme por esta noche. Ahora acuéstese o usted estará levantando muy temprano." She replied with a laugh, trying to get him to stop pinching. {I don't think it is the bedbugs I have to worry about tonight. Now go to bed or you will be getting up very early.}  
  
"¿Levantamos temprano de todos modos tan lo que es el uso?" he asked curiously. {We get up early anyway so what's the use?}  
  
Kim pretended to be asleep and didn't answer, but he knew she wasn't asleep and said silently, "Nice try Kimmy, even I know you don't fall asleep that fast."  
  
He whispered into her ear, "Sé que usted está despierto allí." {I know you're awake over there.}  
  
"La quietud. Algunos de nosotros tratamos de obtener algún sueño aquí." She replied, rolling over to face him. {Hush. Some of us are trying to get some sleep here.}  
  
"Demasiado malo." Bobby said grinning. {Too bad.}  
  
"No me haga lo ato hacia abajo a la cama y lo amordaza para obtenerlo ser la calma." Kim warned mockingly. {Don't make me tie you down to the bed and gag you to get you to be quiet.}  
  
"Acabo de apreciar eso." He replied laughing. {I just might like that.}  
  
By now Kim was starting to get a little annoyed and said, "Duérmase Bobby, o dormiré en la sofá." {Go to sleep Bobby, or I'm going to sleep on the couch.}  
  
He finally backed off and said, "Véalo en el novio de mañana." {See you in the morning sweetheart.}  
  
As silence filled the room she was finally able to go to sleep several minutes later. There for a while she didn't think that he was going to be quiet and she really would have to hold up her end of the bargain, luckily he listened and she wouldn't have to spend the night on the couch.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
¿Qué es con hombres? Perdóneme si estoy equivocado pero he oído que todo usted tipos piensan acerca de es el sexo. ¿Eso es una declaración exacta?  
  
What is it with men? Forgive me if I'm wrong but I've heard that all you guys think about is sex. Is that an accurate statement?  
  
No todos hombres están como que y dependen de cuando usted pregunta por lo.  
  
Not all men are like that and it depends on when you ask about it.  
  
Buenas noches Kimmy. No permita la mordedura de chinches  
  
Goodnight Kimmy. Don't let the bedbugs bite.  
  
Yo no pienso es los chinches que tengo que preocuparme por esta noche. Ahora acuéstese o usted estará levantando muy temprano  
  
I don't think it is the bedbugs I have to worry about tonight. Now go to bed or you will be getting up very early.  
  
¿Levantamos temprano de todos modos tan lo que es el uso?  
  
We get up early anyway so what's the use?  
  
Sé que usted está despierto allí.  
  
I know you're awake over there.  
  
La quietud. Algunos de nosotros tratamos de obtener algún sueño aquí.  
  
Hush. Some of us are trying to get some sleep here.  
  
Demasiado malo.  
  
Too bad.  
  
No me haga lo ato hacia abajo a la cama y lo amordaza para obtenerlo ser la calma.  
  
Don't make me tie you down to the bed and gag you to get you to be quiet.  
  
Acabo de apreciar eso.  
  
I just might like that.  
  
Duérmase Bobby, o dormiré en la sofá.  
  
Go to sleep Bobby, or I'm going to sleep on the couch.  
  
Véalo en el novio de mañana.  
  
See you in the morning sweetheart. 


	56. All Hallows Eve

A/N- I have pics of everyone's costumes I found so you all can see what they actually look like instead of trying to picture them from the descriptions. {www26 . brinkster . com/ mvisions/ stories/ costumes . html}. Be sure to remove the spaces when you go to view the page (this is the only way I could get the link to show up)  
  
The drink mentioned in this chapter later on does exist, I didn't make it up, it's an actual drink you can get in a bar.  
  
~~~  
  
Several weeks before the annual station Halloween party, Joey's friend Michael invited him over for the evening. He hated missing the party with his parents but opted to spend the day with Michael and his other friends. The night of the party, Kim's mom watched Keira and after their shift everyone from the firehouse and the station headed to the location the party was being held at.  
  
Jimmy showed up dressed as a pimp wearing a purple velvet jacket and pants with leopard print trim, velvet hat with feathers and leopard print shoes. D.K showed up as the Phantom of the Opera and started to tease Jimmy about his choice of attire.  
  
"Jimmy, I never thought I'd see you dressing like that in my life." D.K said, unable to hold back laughter any longer.  
  
"At least I'm not dressed like half man half ghost." Jimmy smirked, slapping D.K on the back.  
  
The two men heard someone enter through the door and saw Walsh come in dressed as Austin Powers and both broke out in fits of laughter.  
  
"Man, had I have known we were going back to the flower power days I would have dressed as a hippie!" D.K said laughing.  
  
"Au contraire baby, you can't resist me." Walsh said jokingly with a fake British accent causing Jimmy and D.K to crack up laughing.  
  
Lombardo walked in dressed as the Crocodile Hunter and Walsh said comically, "Hey Steve, watch out for that bloat!"  
  
"At least I've been to the dentist recently," Lombardo replied snidely with a fake Australian accent.  
  
Doc was the next to come through the door. They couldn't tell what he was supposed to be by the outfit he had on. He was wearing a black dress shirt and pair of pants, purple vest, black cape, black gloves, and a hat with skeleton headband and skull brooch.  
  
"What are you supposed to be?" Walsh asked.  
  
"I am the Soultaker." Doc replied.  
  
"Who you here for tonight?" Jimmy asked laughing.  
  
"Man what a collection of people we have here; a pimp, a phantom, a British spy and a croc hunter." Doc replied laughing.  
  
Carlos was the next to enter dressed as Ringwaith from Lord of the Rings. He was wearing a hood with attached mesh drape, robe with belt and a special mesh face mask that let him see out, but others can't see in to identify who was behind the costume.  
  
The group of five men tried to figure out who was behind the outfit but in the end gave up. Carlos came over and said, "You mean to tell me you all have no clue who's behind this outfit?"  
  
"Carlos? Is that you?" Jimmy asked shocked.  
  
"Who else would it be Mac Daddy?" Carlos said, holding back from laughing.  
  
All the guys stood around talking when Alex walked in dressed as a wicked witch. She had on a shiny black vinyl dress with vinyl gloves, a witch hat, and choker.  
  
"Alex, nice outfit," Jimmy said smirking, putting on the pimp action to go along with what he was wearing.  
  
"Jimmy darling, that outfit you're wearing is not so becoming of you," she said innocently, trying not to laugh.  
  
Faith and Bosco were the next two to come in. Faith was dressed as Cleopatra while Bosco was dressed as the Minister of Death.  
  
"Well if two opposites don't attract then I don't know what does." Carlos said with a laugh.  
  
"Man Bosco, you picked the perfect outfit. It really suits you." Jimmy said grinning.  
  
"Thanks Doherty, I see you're right at home in yours too." Bosco said with a laugh.  
  
Jimmy glared at Bosco for a minute and then backed off and headed back to where D.K, Walsh and Lombardo were.  
  
Bobby sat in the living room of their apartment, waiting on Kim to hurry up and change into her outfit so they could go. He was already wearing his black jumpsuit with chest piece with waist sash. The headpiece and chest piece had a design in yellow painted on them and was wearing a black face scarf. He looked down at his watch and back down the hall towards their room and wondered what on earth was taking so long.  
  
Luckily she'd already gotten her hair braided so that was one less thing that needed to be done but he pondered what was taking her so long to get ready for a simple party. She'd already slipped into the faux gold metal bikini top as well as the bikini bottom with a long silk skirt in the front and back. What was taking so long was getting jewelry on that came with the outfit. She'd just put on a coiled faux gold metal upper arm bracelet, which wrapped around her arm three times, with decorative curls at ends and a carved antique looking gold collar type necklace. When she'd fixed her hair the final two pieces had already been put in which were two decorative faux gold metal hair ornaments with hair combs that were on both sides of her head. She knew Mel would be arriving any minute to see how the outfit looked.  
  
Mel arrived shortly and knocked on the door to her sister's apartment. Bobby got up and answered the door and was surprised to see Melanie on the other side.  
  
"How does the outfit look?" Mel asked.  
  
"Dunno she hasn't come out yet," Bobby replied, taking a seat back on the couch.  
  
"I'll go see what's taking so long." Mel said, heading down the hall.  
  
She knocked lightly on the door and said quietly, "Kimmy it's me, need any help."  
  
Kim cracked the door and let her sister in the room and shut the door and went back to putting some light makeup on. As Mel looked at the outfit her sister had on she knew why Jimmy had protested every time she tried to wear this. Jimmy had never seen her in the outfit when she wanted to wear it before; he'd just heard about it and begged her not to wear it.  
  
"What do you think?" Kim asked.  
  
"I see why Jimmy never wanted you to wear that. It's a safe bet jaws will be on the floor that's for sure." Mel said smiling.  
  
"That's the reaction I was going for anyway," she replied smiling, grabbing the cloak the outfit came with to use as a cover up till they got to the party.  
  
"Ready to surprise Bobby?" Mel asked, heading for the door.  
  
"Yep," she replied following her sister out of the room.  
  
Bobby heard the door open and said silently, "It's about time."  
  
"Did you have to make the costume before you put it on?" he joked, as Mel and Kim entered the living room.  
  
"Very funny Bobby." Kim chuckled, taking in his reaction to her outfit.  
  
He was absolutely dumbfounded at her choice of costumes. For a few seconds he couldn't say anything because he honestly didn't know what to say. The outfit was a bit revealing but she looked striking in it regardless.  
  
"So this is the mystery costume eh?" he asked, still unable to take his eyes off the outfit.  
  
"The one and only," she replied smiling; "Shall we go and surprise our colleagues?"  
  
"I think you are gonna floor them showing up in that but it will definitely be worth their reactions that's for sure," he said grinning, standing up.  
  
She slipped the cloak over her shoulders and they headed out to the car to leave, Mel following them out to her car so she could go visit her mother and niece for the evening.  
  
"You two have a good time." Mel called before she got in her car.  
  
As they drove to where the party was being held Bobby asked, "Is this the outfit Jimmy would never let you wear?"  
  
"Yep, this is it," She replied.  
  
"What exactly are you supposed to be in that?" he asked.  
  
"Princess Leia from Star Wars." She replied.  
  
Back at the party, Ty had just arrived dressed as Morpheus from the Matrix.  
  
Alex looked over and saw Ty coming in and said to the group she was with and said giggling, "It looks like the Matrix has revisited us."  
  
"Looking for 'The One' eh Morpheus?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"What's the matter Doherty? The ladies not come with you tonight?" Ty smirked at Jimmy's outfit.  
  
Alex cracked up laughing at Ty's joke and Jimmy said, "One of them showed up,", looking over at Alex. Ty rolled his eyes and said jokingly "Nice try Jimmy, I don't exactly think a witch will be a very good business partner."  
  
"As anyone seen Kim or Bobby yet?" Alex asked.  
  
"Nope, not yet." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Does anyone know what they are coming as?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"I heard talk that Bobby would be a ninja but Kim never said a word about her outfit so I dunno about hers." Carlos said through the mesh of his facemask.  
  
Alex looked towards the door and said, "Well speak of the devil there they are."  
  
Bobby and Kim walked in shortly seeing the group from the station all standing around talking. Kim slipped the cloak off and hung it up on a rack for coats and Bobby slipped his arm around her waist as they headed towards the colleagues.  
  
Carlos looked over at Kim and Bobby headed in their direction and said, "Oh my god, look at what she's wearing!"  
  
"Whoa, that is one awesome outfit," Ty replied.  
  
Jimmy turned around and couldn't believe what she was wearing.  
  
"Just what exactly are you supposed to be?" Jimmy asked curiously.  
  
"Princess Leia." She replied smirking.  
  
"I thought she wore that white dress like robe and wore her hair in buns on the side of her head." Jimmy said confused.  
  
"She did, but wore this before the whole robe thing." Kim replied trying not to laugh.  
  
"So every time you wanted to do that theme at these parties you'd planned on wearing that and not the white outfit?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Do you really think I'd put my hair in buns on the side of my head. I thought you knew me better than that Jimmy." Kim said laughing.  
  
"Has anyone seen Sully yet? He's the only one missing." Ty said.  
  
"No not yet. He's still got ten minutes to get here though." Bosco replied.  
  
Sully had been tempted not to go to the Halloween party, but relented after Ty talked him into it, and knew he would probably be the last one to come in. He climbed out of his car and put his hat on and grabbed the fake tommy gun to go with his outfit since he was going as a mobster. He walked in and saw the costumes of his coworkers and couldn't help but laugh at some of them. Ty turned around and said, "You finally made it eh Sully?"  
  
"Finally," he replied seeing the good time his friends were having.  
  
"So, which mobster are you supposed to be?" Bosco asked.  
  
"Dunno take your pick. New York has had enough of them," Sully replied.  
  
Everyone grabbed some punch and Jimmy suggested that they get started with games.  
  
"What should be the first one we play?" he asked.  
  
"Let's play what if." Alex replied.  
  
Everyone agreed and Alex went over the instructions and passed out paper to everyone. The group wrote down two questions that could be halloween related or be general questions and waited till everyone was finished.  
  
"Ok, now everyone pass your sheet of paper to the person on your right and write down an answer to the questions." She said as everyone swapped papers and began writing.  
  
After about ten minutes Alex drew a name from a bowl to see who would start first.  
  
"Jimmy, you're first." Alex said.  
  
"Bobby asked, What if you could have any alcoholic drink, what would it be." Jimmy said; "My answer would be a shot of sexual ecstasy."  
  
Everyone in the group groaned at his answer and Kim asked humorously, "Is that you answering for yourself or the pimp in you answering for you?"  
  
The group cracked up laughing at her question and Jimmy replied grinning, "That's both of us answering."  
  
Ok, D.K Your turn." Alex said once everyone settled down.  
  
"Jimmy's question was What if you could name your own Broadway production what would it be." D.K said; "My answer would be Distressing Vision."  
  
"D.K asked, What if you could be the happiest person on earth what would it take." Walsh said; "For me to be the happiest person on earth I'd want a gorgeous wife, a lot of money."  
  
"Walsh asked, What if you were being bugged by an annoying pain in the ass." Lombardo said; "I'd take care of the root of the problem early on so it wouldn't grow to be an even bigger pain."  
  
"Lombardo asked, What if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be." Doc said; " I'd go to the Mediterranean and live on the oceanfront."  
  
"Doc asked, What if could dance to any song (fast or slow) what would it be." Carlos stated; "I'd pick Flight 643 by DJ Tiesto."  
  
"Carlos asked, What if someone out of the blue gave you a new car." Faith said; "I'd say thank you now get out of my way and drive off."  
  
"Faith asked, What if the chances of meeting a member of the undead were greater than being struck by lightning." Bosco said; "I'd say welcome to New York and stay out of trouble."  
  
"Bosco asked, What if you could change the future what would you change." Sully said; "I wouldn't know what to change in the future since it hasn't gotten here yet."  
  
"Sully asked, What if you could meet famous person who would it be." Ty said; "I'd want to meet Kobe Bryant."  
  
"Ty asked, What if you were doing a striptease for someone who would it be for." Kim said, slightly blushing; "If I were doing that the answer is for me to know and for you all to find out."  
  
"Kim asked, What if you could have any car you wanted what would it be." Bobby said; "If I could have any car I wanted it would definitely be a carbon metallic colored 03 GMC Yukon XL Denali with stone gray interior."  
  
Alex drew a name out of the bowl to see who would pick the next activity.  
  
"Ok Kim, your turn to pick an activity." Alex said.  
  
"We're going to play the Halloween version of the acronym game." Kim said, trying to avoid laughing; "The object of the game is to create on the fly acronym definitions for various halloween words."  
  
Once everyone understood the concept of the game, Kim drew to see who would go first.  
  
"Ok, Sully, your word is treat." She said, as the group focused on Sully.  
  
He thought for a bit and replied, "The real eye ate time."  
  
"D.K your word is devil." Kim stated.  
  
"Does every vixen improvise lifestyles." He replied, causing the group to laugh.  
  
"Terror goes to Bosco."  
  
"To everyone real reaks one roach." He replied.  
  
"Lombardo, you've got ghost." She said.  
  
"Go have one shot too." He replied, causing everyone to laugh.  
  
"Bobby, your word is corpse." Kim said, glancing over at him.  
  
He thought for a bit and replied, "Come on real people see everything."  
  
"Howl goes to Doc." Kim said, flipping an index card to the back of the ones she held.  
  
"Have one weak link." Doc replied.  
  
"Carlos your word is skull." She said.  
  
"Society kills us lingering loudly."  
  
"Walsh you've got fright." Kim stated.  
  
"Flea rite in goo hold tight." He replied, getting a bunch of strange looks from the group.  
  
"Witch goes to Alex." She said.  
  
"Why is this chick hot." She replied, getting some interesting looks from everyone.  
  
"Faith gets spook."  
  
"Sorry paper overtures over kill." She replied.  
  
"Ty your word is vault." Kim said.  
  
"Vroom a utopia light tonight." Ty said.  
  
"Jimmy your word is crypt." She said.  
  
"Can't rats yell peace too." He asked.  
  
The party lasted for another hour and a half and more games were played and memories made that could and would be used to torment their fellow colleagues with. Everyone had a good time, talking, laughing and being able to have fun on one of the most interesting holidays of the year. Little did they know the terror that would come later on. Not from a Halloween prank but from a group of individuals on a mission to make there lives miserable. 


	57. Diary of a Madman

Craig sat in his apartment plotting the next batch of horrors he had in store. He sat with several empty beer bottles on the table, and a half-full bottle in his hand as he schemed up plans when the phone rang. When he answered he found his cousin from out of state on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Hey Craig how are things in NY?" Marc asked.  
  
"Pretty good, causing havoc and trouble but not much outside of that." Craig replied.  
  
"What you doin to those poor people?" Marc teased.  
  
"Not to the poor people, to a fiery woman I used to work with." Craig said back.  
  
"Ooo a woman, describe her for me." Marc replied anxiously.  
  
"This one is amazing. Long blonde hair, thin as a rail, absolutely gorgeous." Craig said, looking at his little obsessive corner in his apartment full of pictures of Kim.  
  
"Sounds like a winner to me. She like you?" Marc asked.  
  
"Not yet, but soon she won't have a choice in the matter." Craig replied.  
  
"She married?" Marc asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah and has two kids. Her husband works at the same station she does." Craig replied.  
  
"You've always had a thing for married women haven't you." Marc questioned.  
  
"You could say that." Craig said in response, an evil smile spreading across his face.  
  
"I'm coming into NY in a couple weeks, maybe I could help ya out." Marc replied; trying to imagine the woman Craig had described.  
  
"Really, that would be perfect. If you want bring a friend out with ya and you all can stay a while." Craig said to his cousin.  
  
"I'll talk to my friend Tony and see if he wants to come with me. I'll let you know as soon as I get an answer from him if he's coming with me." Marc replied, anxious to talk to his friend.  
  
"Sounds good, if he can come with you call me back and let me know when you all are leaving so I can meet you all at the airport." Craig said.  
  
"Will do. As soon as I hear something I'll give you a call." Marc replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
"Later man." Craig said, hanging up the phone.  
  
Things were getting better and better. If his cousin and his friend come out here we can really cause havoc. Having accomplices can definitely be an advantage, especially if they are family and you know you can trust them. Craig decided to take a break and go around the city, looking for the perfect hide out away from where people would be looking around. Just outside the city he found an old abandoned house that he decided to make their hide out.  
  
"This will do perfectly, it's secluded and away from the city." Craig said to himself as he walked through his new hide out.  
  
Two weeks later Marc called Craig back.  
  
"Hey man, my friend Tony is coming with me to New York. We'll be leaving at the end of the week." Marc said, making Craig's day even better.  
  
"Perfect, I've already got a hide out for us and you two can help me come up with plans." Craig said in return to his cousin.  
  
"Awesome, my friend Tony will have a blast, he can be very creative." Marc replied.  
  
"Tell me a bit about your friend Tony." Craig said.  
  
"Well, he's about my height. He's into lifting weights so he's a buff guy, majorly into sports, should score well with the ladies too. Although sometimes you have to watch him if someone pisses him off he has a major temper." Marc replied.  
  
"Perfect. I doubt the temper will be a problem, unless he screws up then we might have to face off but other than that he will be a great addition to our scheme." Craig said, his plan falling into place.  
  
"I'm going to book a flight for the two of us tomorrow so I'll let you know when we should arrive." Marc replied.  
  
"Ok, let me know as soon as you have all the flight arrangements taken care of. The two of you can stay with me in my apartment so you won't have to worry about a hotel." Craig said.  
  
"Great. I'll talk to you soon with flight arrangements." Marc replied before hanging up.  
  
"Ok, bye." Craig said as he hung up the phone.  
  
Marc went and started checking around on making flight arrangements and got Tony's approval on the plans several days later and booked their flight to leave Monday morning at almost 11 am. He and Tony took care of a few things in California before Marc called Craig back letting him know about the flight details.  
  
"Hey Craig, we've got our flights booked. I wasn't sure how long we'd be staying so I didn't get a round trip ticket, that ok?" Marc said.  
  
"Yeah that's fine. When are you all leaving?" Craig asked.  
  
"Monday, the flight leaves at 10:55 am." Marc replied.  
  
"What is your flight itinerary like?" Craig questioned.  
  
"The plane leaves San Diego around 10:55 am and we land for a layover in Cincinnati around 6:00 pm. We have a little over an hour and a half layover there and our plane leaves at 7:30 from there and we should arrive at La Guardia around 9:30ish." Marc replied.  
  
"Ok, I wrote down the times and stuff. I'll get to the airport around 9:00 incase your flight would be early." Craig replied, making some notes on the paper he'd written down his cousin's itinerary on.  
  
"I'll see you Monday evening then," Marc replied, before getting ready to start packing clothes to take on the trip.  
  
"See you soon," Craig replied, before getting started on straightening things up around his apartment.  
  
Monday morning quickly came and Marc and Tony left San Diego to head out to New York for a while. Neither had anything really to keep them in California so if they wanted to they could stay out in New York if they found it appealing. That morning they left for the airport around 9:30 am since traffic could be a bitch sometimes. Traffic wasn't all that bad for once so they had plenty of time to spare. The flight to Cincinnati was long and boring to say the least. Even though he'd brought stuff to do it was still boring as hell. At least the flight from Cincinnati to NY would be shorter. Close to two hours on a plane was better than five. He was also fortunate he had opted for a lay over because he would have been pulling his hair out being stuck on a plane for close to seven straight hours.  
  
Night had fallen in Cincinnati when they landed and they took advantage of the layover to get a bite to eat and stretch their legs a bit before the final two-hour leg to NY. While they sat waiting till it was time to board the plane Tony and Marc chitchatted idly.  
  
"You ever been to NY?" Marc asked.  
  
"Nope, first time out there." Tony replied.  
  
"You'll like it. All kinds of stuff to do and mischief to cause." Marc said laughing.  
  
"Sounds like it," Tony said in return.  
  
When they boarded the plane they quickly got to their seats and about thirty minutes later they took off towards New York. The cloud cover and dark skies prevented anything to be seen from the air so they kept themselves occupied for two hours till they landed.  
  
"Thank goodness that was a short flight. I would have croaked if it was another five hour one." Tony said chuckling as they headed through the gate into La Guardia.  
  
"I know what you mean my friend." Marc replied, waving to Craig.  
  
"Marc, welcome to New York. And you must be Tony." Craig said shaking the man's hand.  
  
"That's me. Nice to meet you Craig." Tony replied.  
  
"How was your flight?" Craig asked as they headed to get their luggage.  
  
"Boring as hell." Tony replied laughing.  
  
"Most flights are. Tonight you two can go out and have some fun around the city then the work will start in the morning." Craig said when they got out to his car.  
  
"Sounds good to me, what do you think Tony?" Marc asked.  
  
"Definitely sounds good." Tony replied as they piled into the car.  
  
They headed to Craig's apartment and got their stuff unpacked and headed out for an evening of fun. The next morning the three sat around the apartment each drinking a beer when Marc began to speak.  
  
"So Craig, tell us more about this lovely lady your after." Marc said.  
  
"Tell me what you think." Craig said, passing each of them a picture of Kim that he'd taken when he'd followed her around one day.  
  
"Damn you certainly have good taste." Tony said, impressed with the picture.  
  
"Shit, I've seen her before." Marc said in shock.  
  
"How? Where?" Craig asked.  
  
"A couple years ago in the Bahamas. I was flirting around with her but she wouldn't have anything to do with me." Marc replied.  
  
"She must have been on her honeymoon with her paramedic husband." Craig replied coldly.  
  
"I take it you don't like her husband." Tony commented.  
  
"How could I like him. He's the one thing standing between me and her." Craig replied bitterly.  
  
"Point taken." Tony remarked.  
  
Tony glanced around the small living room in the apartment and saw no pictures of Craig's family and wondered why there weren't any.  
  
"I don't mean to pry but why don't you have any pictures of your family out?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I never knew my father because he split before I was born, so I was told. When I was five my mother was beaten on her way home from work, after that she was never the same. She essentially became a cold-hearted bitch. After that she never cared about me anymore and drowned her problems in drugs. She was verbally abusive and didn't give a shit about me literally. I have no reason to remember them because I have no fond childhood memories of them." Craig replied coldly.  
  
Marc never knew about that side of Craig's childhood and was surprised. He'd never met Craig's mother but had assumed everything was fine from the way his parents had talked when he was little.  
  
"So what is it about Kim that has attracted you to her?" Marc asked curiously.  
  
"She's the first woman that has actually treated me like I'm an actual person. The other blonde was kind of hostile so I never felt much towards her. Kim on the other hand was actually kind to me, something I haven't felt in a long time. She will see that we were meant to be together whether she likes it or not." Craig replied, thinking about the first time that he'd met Kim at the firehouse.  
  
That night after Marc and Tony went to sleep, Craig thought back to his troubled childhood. He hadn't thought about some of those memories in an awfully long time. He could still remember the night his mother had come home after being attacked. He'd been scared to death for her seeing what the people had done to her. She never sought help to deal with what she'd gone through though and pushed everyone away, even him. Her life became nothing but drugs. All the other children talked about how much their parents cared for them and loved them, but he could say nothing. Because his life drastically changed that night. Seeing all the other mothers loving their children made him envious. He longed for the same type of affection that he saw others giving and receiving but it wasn't till the day he met Kim at the firehouse that it ever happened. 


	58. Tainted

It had been several months since Craig had left the firehouse. Everyone was thankful to see him go and he definitely wasn't missed that's for sure. Kim and Bobby had just come back to the station from their lunch break and Kim was taking a sip from her soda bottle as she headed in. Craig had been hiding out waiting on them to return and saw what she had and smiled evilly, patting the pocket of his coat. Everyone had been sitting around talking when all of a sudden they heard a scream from outside the firehouse. Everyone inside rushed outside and found a young child who appeared to be having a seizure, with his mother going hysterical, not knowing what to do to help. Kim worked on trying to calm the mother down while Doc, Carlos and Bobby worked on the little boy.  
  
Having no one paying attention to what was happening in the firehouse, they failed to notice someone slip up the stairs to the kitchen area. Craig spotted the bottle Kim had carried in with her and slipped about 25 mg of cyanide powder into the bottle she had. It was still relatively full so he didn't have to worry about any of the powder clinging to the sides of the bottle. He thoroughly mixed the contents of the bottle with a straw long enough to fit all the way to the bottom of the bottle. After he was sure you couldn't tell anything had been added to the drink he headed back to his original hiding spot to wait for everyone to leave so he could slip out unnoticed.  
  
Doc and Carlos got the boy stabilized and took him to the hospital as a precautionary measure even though the seizure was brief and ended a short time after it had started. Everyone else including Kim and Bobby headed back up to the kitchen and resumed their conversation. When the coast was clear Craig slipped out and watched from a distance what was going on. Kim drank about half of her bottle of coke and started feeling strange. Bobby looked over at her and asked, "Are you ok?"  
  
"I think I'll be fine, just have to lay off the spicy foods for a bit because the coke isn't helping quench the fire," she replied jokingly.  
  
Bobby took her word on it and thirty minutes later they got a call they had to respond to. Craig watched from near by with satisfaction, seeing the first signs that the powder was taking effect. Her breathing started to get slow and gasping as they headed out to the bus, which alarmed Bobby because just fifteen minutes ago she was just fine. Nonstop waves of nausea swept through her worse than the morning sickness she'd went through when she was pregnant with Keira.  
  
"I feel like I'm going to be sick," she managed to gasp out, grasping onto the door handle of the bus for support, leaning her forehead against the glass.  
  
The alarming rate that her condition had changed scared the shit out of Bobby and he scooped her up since she could hardly stand on her own and carried her back inside. Doc and Carlos took the call so they could figure out what was wrong with Kim. Her skin was flushed and a few minutes later she threw up. Everyone was scared because they had no clue what was wrong with her or what had caused this in the first place.  
  
"Jimmy, you're driving the bus. We've got to get her to the hospital." Bobby replied picking her up as she started to drift into unconsciousness. Jimmy raced downstairs, Bobby following close behind. Alex went with them so she could help Bobby monitor her condition enroute to the hospital. They got her hooked to a heart monitor and saw her rhythms were very abnormal. They worked to get her stable as Jimmy raced them towards the ER. They got her on oxygen and hoped to help make it easier for her to breathe since her breaths were still coming very slowly but she fought to even get air in and monitored her vitals. Alex called the ER and told them they were coming in and there was a group waiting on them when they pulled up.  
  
"What happened?" One of the doctors asked as they rushed into the ER.  
  
"I don't know. One minute she's just fine and then 30 minutes later she's having trouble breathing, feeling nauseated and can hardly stand. Then she started going unconscious. I have no clue what happened to her. It can't be the heat because its not all that warm out here now that the heat wave is over." Bobby replied in panic at what was going on and how fast things had changed.  
  
The three of them left and let the doctors work on her, trying to unravel the mystery as to what had caused her to fall ill all of a sudden. The three of them racked their brain to see if they could think of anything that could have happened that they were aware of but nothing clicked. An hour later the doctor came back out and asked, "Has she had anything to eat or drink recently?"  
  
"Yeah, before this happened we had just returned from our lunch break at work and we all were sitting around talking, she was sipping on a bottle of soda. Then a kid outside the firehouse started having seizures so we all went out to help the kid and the mother and that took about 15 to 20 minutes. We went inside and she drank about half the bottle and complained that she should lay off the spicy foods because her mouth felt as if it were on fire, thinking it had to do with the food she had for lunch. Then we get a call and by the time we get to the bus she can hardly breathe." Bobby replied, not sure why the doctor had asked that.  
  
"I just got the lab results back and they found cyanide in her system. Could you bring in the bottle so we can run tests on it?" The doctor asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Bobby replied in shock, the fact that Kim had been poisoned still sinking in.  
  
"How could she have been poisoned?" Alex asked; "We all were outside at the same time, none of us were by ourselves to do it."  
  
"Good point Alex," Jimmy noted.  
  
Bobby called down to the station and had one of the guys bring the bottle she'd been drinking down. Several minutes later D.K arrived with the soda bottle and gave it to Bobby and sat down next to Jimmy and Alex and asked, "Why do they need that?"  
  
"She was poisoned D.K. They want to run tests on the bottle to see if that's what caused it." Jimmy said angrily.  
  
"What with?" he asked, a shocked expression crossing his face.  
  
"Cyanide," Alex replied looking at Bobby coming back over.  
  
"Dear God who could have done it?" D.K asked.  
  
"We don't know. Could you see if any of the guys across the street saw anyone suspicious around the building before the kid showed up or afterwards to see if it was an outside job?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Sure thing," he replied; "You want me to tell the others at the station or wait?"  
  
"Go ahead and tell them. I don't know how long we'll be here." Bobby replied slumping down in the chair he was in, unable to believe what was happening.  
  
D.K nodded his head in response and headed back to the station with the bad news.  
  
When he arrived everyone was sitting around silently, waiting for any updates on how she was. Before D.K headed into the firehouse he went across the street and asked to have Officers Yokas, Boscarelli, Davis and Sullivan sent over so they could see if they saw anything since they'd all stopped in the precinct around the same time this happened. D.K headed back across the street, bringing bad news and waiting for the four officers to arrive so they could talk.  
  
"Well how is she?" Lombardo asked.  
  
"You guys aren't going to believe this, but she was poisoned." D.K said, still unable to grasp what had happened.  
  
"Poisoned?!" everyone exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
"That's what the test results show," D.K said softly.  
  
"With what?" Walsh asked stunned.  
  
"Cyanide," he responded.  
  
"Who could have done it? None of us could ever do that to her. Plus we all were together the whole time so none of us had the opportunity to do it." Lombardo replied exasperated.  
  
"I know, I've got 4 officers coming over from across the street to see if they can get anything out of their colleagues." D.K said trying to ease his colleague's worries.  
  
"God I hope she's ok. From what I've heard that is some pretty nasty shit to mess with." Walsh said in downcast spirits.  
  
Everyone silently nodded their heads in agreement when they heard the 4 officers coming in.  
  
"Hello where is everybody!" Ty called out.  
  
"Up here," D.K replied in a saddened voice.  
  
"What's wrong with you all?" Bosco asked, looking at the dreary faces of the firefighters.  
  
"We need you all to see if anyone across the street saw anything suspicious after that boy that went into seizures in front of the station left for the hospital." D.K said.  
  
"And why do we have to do that?" Bosco retorted.  
  
"Because Kim was poisoned you jackass!" Lombardo hissed, glaring at Bosco.  
  
"Whoa, what did you just say!" Faith replied appalled.  
  
"Kim was poisoned today, she's at Mercy right now in the ER. The preliminary lab results say it was cyanide that was found in her system." D.K said to Faith.  
  
"Is she going to be ok?" Sully asked in a concerned manner.  
  
"We don't know yet." D.K said, sadly.  
  
"We'll go back over to the precinct and see if anyone saw anything and see what we can do to help out." Faith replied, determined to find out who had done this.  
  
As the four officers left, they were stunned to hear what had happened. They knew that none of the guys in the firehouse would want to hurt Kim. To them she was just one of the guys, just like Alex was and everyone got along with everyone. Faith headed towards the serge's office and quietly rapped on the door, entering when her knock was acknowledged.  
  
"Sir I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment." Faith asked.  
  
"Sure, have a seat." He replied, getting up and closing the door.  
  
"I was approached by several members of the firehouse across the street to help find out who poisoned one of their medics this afternoon. Could we bring this up in roll call tomorrow to see if anyone remembers anything?" she asked, hoping to be able to help out.  
  
"Who was poisoned and with what." the serge asked.  
  
"It was Kim, Bobby's wife. She was poisoned with cyanide." She replied.  
  
"How is she doing?" he questioned.  
  
"Right now sir I don't know. They didn't have a lot of details at the moment." Faith said in response.  
  
"I will bring this up tomorrow. For now you and your partner ask around the precinct just to get the word flowing to see if anyone saw anything today. Keep me posted if you hear anything on how she's doing." The serge replied.  
  
"Yes sir," Faith said as she stood up to leave.  
  
Back at the hospital, they'd let the three from the firehouse come in and see Kim briefly, Bobby spending the most time with her. They'd positively identified cyanide in the bottle of soda. All they could do is give her antidotes to counteract the effects the poisons were having in her system. Bobby sat next to her holding her hand in his and softly whispered near her ear,  
  
"Venga en Kimmy, usted ha obtenido para luchar esto. Sé que usted puede. Todos apoyan en la casa está preocupado por usted tan por favor malvado fuera. Usted ha obtenido a una hija magnífica que espera en usted en casa así como un hijo fino que necesita usted. No mencionar a todos sus amigos y la familia que son concernidos para cómo usted hace. Y sobre todo, yo lo necesito. A pesar de la pelea que tuvimos un rato espalda, usted es mi vida. Sin usted una parte de mí pierde, es por favor fuerte y la pelea este tan podemos ser una familia una vez más." {Come on Kimmy, you have got to fight this. I know you can. Everyone back at the house is worried about you so please tough it out. You've got a gorgeous daughter waiting on you at home as well as a fine son that need you. Not to mention all your friends and family that are concerned for how you are doing. And above all, I need you. Despite the fight we had a while back, you are my life. Without you a part of me is missing, please be strong and fight this so we can be a family once more.}  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
Venga en Kimmy, usted ha obtenido para luchar esto. Sé que usted puede. Todos apoyan en la casa está preocupado por usted tan por favor malvado fuera. Usted ha obtenido a una hija magnífica que espera en usted en casa así como un hijo fino que necesita usted. No mencionar a todos sus amigos y la familia que son concernidos para cómo usted hace. Y sobre todo, yo lo necesito. A pesar de la pelea que tuvimos un rato espalda, usted es mi vida. Sin usted una parte de mí pierde, es por favor fuerte y la pelea este tan podemos ser una familia una vez más.  
  
Come on Kimmy, you have got to fight this. I know you can. Everyone back at the house is worried about you so please tough it out. You've got a gorgeous daughter waiting on you at home as well as a fine son that need you. Not to mention all your friends and family that are concerned for how you are doing. And above all, I need you. Despite the fight we had a while back, you are my life. Without you a part of me is missing, please be strong and fight this so we can be a family once more. 


	59. Blurry

Jimmy called Kim's mother to let her know what had happened. When Bobby came out he called his mother since she was looking after the kids to let them know what was going on. He heard Jimmy ask, "Do you want me to stop and pick up the kids when I bring her mother down?"  
  
Bobby looked at Jimmy and replied, "Sure that would be fine.", and gave him instructions on how to get to his mothers home. He then called her back to let her know that Jimmy was coming over to pick up the kids and bring them over with Kim's mother. Twenty minutes later the group of four arrived back at the hospital. Jimmy was carrying Keira and Joey was walking alongside his grandmother, the expressions on their face one of shock and disbelief. Joey saw Bobby and ran in his direction. Bobby heard the boys footsteps and saw Joey on his way over and knelt down so he could be on eye level with him. Joey hugged Bobby tightly and in a small voice began to speak very quietly.  
  
"Why can't whoever's doing this leave mom alone?" Joey asked in a weak voice.  
  
"If I could answer that for you Joey, I would, but I honestly don't know why." Bobby replied softly; "Right now all we can do is be strong and help get her through this."  
  
Joey nodded his head sadly and took a seat next to Alex and Bobby stood up. Jimmy headed over to where Bobby was carrying Keira with him. He took her from Jimmy and sat down near Alex and Joey. She couldn't understand what had happened to her mother but picked up on the emotions of everyone around her and began to whimper softly. Bobby softly began to speak to her in Spanish to let her know everything would be ok.  
  
The doctor had just finished checking on Kim and was looking over the lab values on the recent labs that were just drawn. It looked like the antidotes were finally taking effect and the amount of cyanide in her system was decreasing. He headed out to let those who had brought her in know how she was doing. He spotted the group and headed over towards them, figuring the three new people must be the patient's mother and children. Bobby spotted the doctor coming and stood up, still holding Keira so he could find out how she was doing.  
  
"Has there been any change?" Bobby asked solemnly, still holding on to hope that Kim would be ok.  
  
"She's on 100% oxygen and didn't initially respond to the 600 mg of dicobalt edetate which we gave her through the I.V. Since the initial dose caused no reaction we gave her an additional 300-mg over one minute and she still didn't show signs of recovery. We then started her on 10 ml of a 3% sodium nitrite solution, which infused for four minutes. She's currently on a 25-ml bag of 50% sodium thiosulfate solution, which is to be run for ten minutes. You're lucky you got her here as quickly as you did because if it had been any longer and more would have had to have been done. After the last of the antidotes runs its course to neutralize the toxins, all we can do is wait for it to clear from her system. The labs we just drew showed a small decrease in the amount of cyanide in her which shows the antidotes are working, but she's not out of the woods yet though, its still too early to determine if there will be longstanding effects from this." The doctor said to the group sitting in the waiting room.  
  
Kim's mother let out a heavy sigh, thankful that the antidotes was working but worried about any permanent damage that could have been caused. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Bobby's voice.  
  
"Come on and I'll take you to see her." He said quietly, placing Keira in Alex's arms.  
  
The two walked in together and he stood beside her as she quietly spoke words of encouragement to her daughter. After several minutes they left and he brought Joey and Keira in to see their mother. Joey was nervous, even though Bobby had explained things in a manner that he could understand. As they headed into the room Keira began to coo when she saw her mother, but quieted down when her mother didn't respond, Bobby noticed the change and whispered quietly to her, "Está bien a bebé, la mami será fina pronto. Sé que usted la pierde, todos hacemos. Ella probablemente lo pierde terriblemente también." {It's ok baby, mommy is going to be fine soon. I know you miss her, we all do. She probably misses you terribly too.}  
  
Kim's mother left and took Joey and Keira with her since Bobby was staying till she came to. Jimmy had gone back to the firehouse and started to do some research into what Kim had ingested. Sure he'd heard of it used and knew it was nasty to deal with but wanted to know what they were dealing with. The labs drawn showed a constant decrease in the amounts of cyanide in her system. Five hours after she'd been in the hospital she began to regain consciousness. When she came to, things momentarily were a blur. A sudden wave of nausea swept through her as well as having some very uncomfortable muscle cramps. Bobby had fallen asleep from worry had didn't notice that Kim had woken up. She looked over and saw him asleep and went to say something but nothing would come out.  
  
One of the nurses that came in to check on her periodically found her awake. The nurse quickly went to get the doctor to let him know that she'd woken up and then returned and woke up Bobby. The nurse gently shook him awake and he immediately feared something had happened.  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked groggily.  
  
"No, everything's fine. Your wife is awake now. The doctor should be in momentarily," She replied, before leaving the room.  
  
He quickly looked over and saw Kim awake and was beyond relieved at that news. Kim closed her eyes briefly, fighting the feeling of nausea and felt the bed move as Bobby sat beside her.  
  
"Welcome back. Are you feeling ok?" the doctor asked after entering the room.  
  
She went to speak but again nothing came out. The doctor passed her a small cup of water and after drinking was able to speak.  
  
"I feel sick to my stomach and having muscle cramps." She replied in a hoarse whisper.  
  
"Those are probably side-effects from the medications we had to give you to counteract the toxins in your system. Do you remember what happened?" he asked.  
  
"I remember feeling fine all shift till we got back from helping the kid who started going into seizures. When we all went back in I took a drink of my soda and began to feel funny. By the time we got a call I could hardly breathe, and felt myself becoming weaker by the second, then I blacked out." Kim replied.  
  
During the brief pause, Bobby said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go call and let everyone know you're awake."  
  
Kim nodded her head in reply and watched him leave and asked, "What happened?"  
  
"You were poisoned this afternoon. Someone slipped cyanide powder into your soda bottle. Can you think of anyone who might have done this?" The doctor asked.  
  
"Poisoned! I know none of the guys would back at the station. We all were outside at the same time taking care of the kid with seizures."  
  
Bobby stepped outside and quickly called Kim's mother first to let her know what was going on. Joey heard the phone ringing and went and answered it.  
  
"Hello," he said softly into the phone.  
  
"Hey Joey is grandma around?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yeah, hang on and I'll take her the phone." Joey replied, taking the cordless down the hall.  
  
A short time later Bobby was talking to Kim's mother over the phone telling her the good news.  
  
"I thought I'd let you know that Kim just woke up. The doctor's in with her now." He said, hearing her mother's sigh of relief.  
  
"When did she wake up?" she asked.  
  
"About five minutes ago. The doctor is talking to her right now." He replied.  
  
"Thank goodness. Are they going to keep her overnight for observation or anything?" her mother asked.  
  
"I don't know. I haven't talked to the doctor about that, although I imagine they will just as a precautionary measure. As soon as I know more I'll let you know." Bobby replied.  
  
"Ok, thanks." She replied, feeling as if a huge amount of worry had been lifted off her.  
  
After speaking with her mother, Bobby called down to the station to let them know as well. Jimmy heard the phone ringing and went to answer it, feeling nervousness build up when he heard Bobby's voice.  
  
"What happened Bobby?" Jimmy asked, seeing everyone from the station gather around behind him.  
  
"Kim just woke up about 5 minutes ago." Bobby replied.  
  
"She did? Does she seem ok?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"So far she seems fine. She's talking and everything. The doctor is in with her now," Bobby said back.  
  
Jimmy said a silent thank you and said, "Thanks for letting us know. I'll stop by after the shift is over. I gotta run and tell everyone else."  
  
"Ok, see you later." Bobby replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
When Jimmy turned around he saw all the nervous faces of the firefighters standing in a half circle around him.  
  
"What did Bobby say?" Alex asked softly.  
  
"Kim just woke up." Jimmy said, as a huge smile crossed his face.  
  
Cheers erupted from those around at the news and Alex hugged Jimmy tightly as everyone celebrated the wonderful news.  
  
"Is she going to be ok?" D.K asked.  
  
"The doctor was speaking to her when Bobby called so we should know more soon." Jimmy replied.  
  
Kim's mother headed into Joey's room where he was playing with his game boy and said, "Hey Joey, can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
"Sure nana." Joey replied, sitting up and pausing his game; "Did Bobby give you any updates on how mom is doing?"  
  
"Yes, he did sweetheart. It looks like she's going to be just fine. She woke up about five minutes ago." She told her grandson, seeing the look of joy cross his face.  
  
"Really! She's going to be ok?" Joey asked.  
  
"It looks like she's going to be good as new in no time." She replied smiling.  
  
"Can we go see her?" Joey asked softly.  
  
"I'd take you but visiting hours are over. If they are keeping her overnight I can take you in the morning to see her, is that ok?" she replied.  
  
"That's fine. I'm just happy mom's going to be ok." Joey said smiling giving his grandmother a hug.  
  
"So am I baby, So am I." She replied softly.  
  
Bobby returned to the room and the doctor was still there talking to Kim.  
  
"Will you be keeping her here over night to make sure there aren't any traces of the cyanide in her system?" Bobby asked, taking a seat next to Kim.  
  
"Yes, she can go home tomorrow afternoon. Just to be on the safe side it would best for her to stay for observation over night to make sure there aren't any longstanding effects from the cyanide." The doctor replied before leaving.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
Está bien a bebé, la mami será fina pronto. Sé que usted la pierde, todos hacemos. Ella probablemente lo pierde terriblemente también.  
  
It's ok baby, mommy is going to be fine soon. I know you miss her, we all do. She probably misses you terribly too. 


	60. Reality

After the doctor had left he sat beside Kim and gently hugged her and said, "You gave us all a rather big scare this afternoon."  
  
"I'm just trying to figure out who could have done this. I know for a fact it wasn't anyone at the station because we all were outside at the same time with that kid." She said softly, still trying to think.  
  
"Could it have been an outside job? Maybe the whole seizure thing was a set up to get us all out of there." Bobby said.  
  
"But who masterminded it if it was?" she asked.  
  
"The only person I can think of would be Craig. But it's been what several months since he left the station and last pulled something?" Bobby said.  
  
"Right now he seems the only logical suspect till we can find out where he was." Kim replied, sighing softly; "Are the kids ok?"  
  
"They're just fine. Your mom's watching them since I've been here since we brought you in. Joey was scared when he found out. Jimmy picked him and Keira up at my moms and brought them down here when he brought your mom down to see you." Bobby said in response.  
  
That evening when his shift was over Jimmy and several guys from the firehouse were going to head to Mercy to see Kim. When they left, they saw Ty, Sully and Faith talking outside, Faith saw them leaving and wondered if they had heard anything else on Kim.  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Ty asked.  
  
"She's awake, I imagine they are keeping her overnight to make sure there aren't any longstanding effects from the cyanide but other than that she'd doing good." Jimmy replied to the three officers.  
  
"That's wonderful news. If we hear anything tomorrow we'll let you all know if anyone happened to see anything." Faith said.  
  
"Thanks. We appreciate you all helping us figure out who did this to her." Jimmy replied, as he, D.K and Lombardo climbed into his car.  
  
"No thanks is necessary. You all look out for us and we'll look out for you. When someone messes with one of us they mess with everyone from the 55." Ty replied.  
  
"Well said," D.K said.  
  
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and headed out for the evening. The three firefighters headed up to her room and saw Bobby heading down the hall with something to drink.  
  
"Hey," Lombardo called out, getting Bobby's attention.  
  
Bobby turned around seeing Jimmy, D.K and Lombardo heading down the hall.  
  
"What's up?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Not much, just thought we'd swing by to see how Kim's doing." D.K replied.  
  
The group of four headed down the hall towards her room talking back and forth. Kim heard the voices and propped herself up on some pillows as they came in.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Jimmy asked as he gave her a hug.  
  
"Much better," she replied; "Ready to get out of here but that won't happen till tomorrow."  
  
The group laughed and D.K said, "I think we've rubbed off on her. She hates being in here as much as we do."  
  
They all sat around talking for about five minutes then D.K, Jimmy and Lombardo said their good-byes and headed home for the evening. Bobby stayed with her till she went to sleep and then left to head home to get some rest himself before he came back to get her that afternoon. The next morning Kim's mother brought Joey and Keira to see her before she came home. She'd called to make sure she was feeling ok before coming over, noticing Joey's excitement at seeing his mom. As they walked down the corridor to her room, Joey chattered happily all the way to her room and his face lit up when he saw his mother was going to be ok. When Keira saw her mother she began to coo again, and began to smile when she heard her mothers voice.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Joey asked as he sat down on the side of her bed.  
  
"Just fine sweetheart." She replied, giving him a hug.  
  
"When can you come home?" he asked quietly.  
  
"This afternoon. Nothing happened overnight so I'm in good shape to go." She replied, seeing the smile cross her son's face.  
  
"I need to go run some errands. Joey, do you want to stay here for a while?" Kim's mother asked.  
  
"Can I stay?" he asked.  
  
"As long as you behave yourself you can." His grandmother replied smiling; "I'll take Keira with me if that's ok and bring her back."  
  
"That's fine, I doubt they would let her stay for an extended amount of time because of her age and the type of floor I'm on." Kim said.  
  
Several minutes later her mother and Keira left and she and Joey started in chitchatting. There wasn't anything good to watch on TV so they had to think up something else to do.  
  
Kim went through the small table next to the bed and found a deck of cards one of the guys must have left and said, "Up for a game of cards?"  
  
"Yeah," Joey replied excitedly.  
  
"What do you want to play?" she asked as she shuffled the cards.  
  
"How about rummy." Joey suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Kim replied smiling as she dealt the cards out.  
  
Bobby left around 11 to head to the hospital and spend time with Kim before she came home. He'd tried calling her mother but got no response so he figured she'd gone out for a bit. As he headed down the corridor he heard giggling coming from her room and saw Joey and Kim laughing as they played cards.  
  
"I didn't think parties were allowed in the hospital," Bobby said smirking as Kim looked up when she heard his voice.  
  
"Very funny," she replied as he headed over to where she and Joey were.  
  
"What have you been up to today kiddo?" Bobby asked, ruffling Joey's hair.  
  
"Not much, we came by here nana and Keira went to run some errands and I stayed here. We've been playing cards for a while and talking that's about it." He replied.  
  
"You wanna play?" Kim asked.  
  
"Deal me in." he replied, pulling a chair up to the side of the bed.  
  
Around 1:30 the doctor came back in and went over the discharge papers with her. He didn't want her going back to work for a couple of days just to make sure she was up to par. Her mother and Keira came back ten minutes after the doctor left and they all left together and headed home.  
  
"Can we stop by the station so I can tell Doc when I'll be back?" she asked as they headed home.  
  
"Sure, everyone from our shift should be starting to come in. I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you." he replied as they pulled into the station.  
  
When she walked in all the guys were upstairs bickering about a football game that was on TV. Bobby was carrying Keira and Joey was walking alongside Kim when they all headed towards the group. Walsh looked up from the TV and saw her coming and said, "They let you go already?"  
  
"Yep, I came to talk to Doc to let him know I'd be back in a couple days. The doctor wants me to take it easy for at least a day before I start back into the swing of things." She replied.  
  
"If you would have come back today we wouldn't have let you work after what you went through yesterday." Jimmy said, opening a bottle and taking a seat in one of the recliners.  
  
Bobby and Joey stayed and watched the some of the game between the Cincinnati Bengal's and the Atlanta Falcons while Kim went to talk to Doc.  
  
"Hey Joey, who you think will win?" Jimmy asked his son.  
  
Joey studied the screen for a moment and replied, "I think it will be Atlanta that wins."  
  
"I thought you used to like the Bengal's." Jimmy said, shooting a look at Bobby.  
  
"I did but I have a feeling they're gonna get beat." Joey replied, settling in with the rest of the firefighters and paramedics to watch some of the game.  
  
A short time later Doc came in and headed upstairs and saw Kim and asked, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Much better." She replied; "I came to talk to you about coming back to work in a couple days. The doctor at the hospital suggested I take a couple of days to get back in the swing of things to make sure I'm up to par after yesterday."  
  
"Sounds like a good plan. After yesterday a couple days recoup time couldn't hurt." Doc said.  
  
That afternoon when Faith went into the precinct to get ready for her shift and found a note waiting on her at the desk as she came in. After picking up the note she proceeded to the locker room to change for her shift and sat down on the bench and unfolded the note. She was thrilled to read that someone might have noticed something odd that happened at the firehouse and quickly got ready so she could talk with this person. Bosco noticed something different about Faith and asked, "What's up with you?"  
  
"We might have a lead as to what happened yesterday afternoon at the firehouse." Faith said shutting her locker and heading out the door.  
  
"Officer Yokas?" a voice asked as she left.  
  
"Yes," she replied, turning around.  
  
"I'm Officer Kevin Newman, I might have seen something yesterday and heard you were looking into what had happened." The young officer said.  
  
"Let's go in here and talk," she said as she headed back into the locker room since Bosco was the only other person in there.  
  
Kevin nodded his head and followed her back into the locker room. Bosco looked up and saw them coming in  
  
"Kevin, do you feel comfortable speaking in front of my partner Bosco?" she asked.  
  
He nodded his head and replied, "That's fine."  
  
"Tell me, what did you see yesterday afternoon?" Faith asked.  
  
"My partner and I had just come back in from making an arrest and he'd started the paperwork and I came back out to get something out of the RMP. I saw what happened with the kid and watched for a bit and went back inside. My partner asked me to go back out and get something out of the RMP for him, when I came back out I'd just gotten into the car and reached over and got what he needed and was about ready to get out when I saw a white guy about 6'2 with brownish black hair leaving the firehouse rather quickly. I got a pretty good look at the guys face so if I ever saw him again I'd recognize him, he had a suspicious aire about him that I picked up on immediately but what I noticed was odd was he was wearing a paramedic T-shirt." Kevin said to the two officers.  
  
Faith made notes as the officer spoke so she could ask the guys across the street if they knew anyone that fit that description.  
  
"We'll probably need to talk to you again after we go see if anyone across the street can come up with a possible suspect." Faith said.  
  
"That's fine. If you don't mind me asking, what happened after that guy left?" Kevin asked.  
  
"One of the medic's across the street was poisoned yesterday." Faith replied, seeing a look of horror cross the young man's face.  
  
"Is the person going to be ok?" Kevin asked.  
  
"Yeah, the antidotes the doctors had to give her neutralized what she took in. She woke up last night and I imagine they'll probably release her from the hospital sometime today." Faith said.  
  
"We'd better be heading to roll call, thank you for the information. I really appreciate it." Faith told Kevin.  
  
"My pleasure. I just hope what I saw helps. Because that poor woman's family must have been scared to death when they heard about that." Kevin said, walking with them towards roll call.  
  
"They were. Her husband works with her over at the station. I imagine her kids were also frightened." Faith replied.  
  
After she'd talked to Doc, Bobby took her Joey and Keira home for the afternoon and returned for his shift. She spent the day primarily relaxing, but spending some quality time with her children. Occasionally the thought of Craig being the one who'd poisoned her ran through her mind, wondering if her children could be in danger. She pushed the thought from her mind, not wanting to dwell on that thought. It was bad enough Craig was putting her and her family through all this but if he ever laid a hand on her children that would be the last straw. 


	61. Day After

That afternoon Faith, Bosco, Sully, Ty, Bobby, Alex, Doc and Carlos all met up for lunch.  
  
"How's Kim doing?" Ty asked Bobby.  
  
"She's doing better. She'll be back to work in a couple of days, the doctor suggested she take a few days to get back on her feet after yesterday. She was released from the hospital this afternoon." Bobby replied.  
  
"We might have a lead as to what happened too. One of the officers at the precinct might have seen the person responsible leave the firehouse after he and his partner were bringing in an arrest." Faith said.  
  
"Really? That's great. Is there a way Kim and I could talk to this person and see if we might be able to identify who he's talking about?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I don't see why not. I'll talk to him when I see him back at the precinct and if its ok with him you all can meet after work or something." Faith replied.  
  
"Did he give any kind of description as to what this person looked like?" Bobby questioned.  
  
"Approximately 6'2, brownish black haired white male wearing a paramedic T- shirt. Ring any bells with anyone?" Faith replied.  
  
"Yeah, it does." Bobby responded, feeling anger rising.  
  
"Who?" Carlos asked curiously.  
  
"Craig." He replied bitterly.  
  
"That freak? He may have been messed up in the head but would he really go as far as poisoning her?" Carlos asked.  
  
"Hello? Look what he's done to her already retard. Her first day back at work he's starting shit with her, and me. You weren't there Doc, but this guy wouldn't leave her alone. That afternoon when we came back because it was so slow, he followed her to the roof and tried to talk to her but started coming onto her and shoved her against a wall and forced her to kiss him. Remember when I was in hospital after getting hit in the head with a piece of brick? It was him who abducted her on the unfounded call and beat her when she covered his double with Alex. You should have heard the message he left on the answering machine in our apartment, I don't think she heard it thank God, and now possibly this." Bobby replied, forcing himself to keep his temper in check thinking about what this asshole had done to her in the past.  
  
"Want us to run this guy through the system and see if he has any priors? He certainly sounds like he's a few short of a six pack if you ask me." Bosco said.  
  
"Sure, makes me wonder if this guy has done stuff like this before. Because before Kim came off maternity leave he was normal, he may have been really annoying but wasn't acting too off." Bobby replied.  
  
"What's this jag-off's last name and we'll run him through the system." Bosco asked.  
  
"I just knew him as Craig, Doc do you know? You trained him after all." Bobby said.  
  
"Lemme think for a second and see if it comes to me, I know I heard him say it." Doc replied.  
  
Doc thought for several minutes and then it hit him.  
  
"His last name is Anderson." Doc said, relieved that he was able to recall it.  
  
Just then Faith and Bosco got a call. Before they left Faith said "As soon as we run him through the system we'll let you all know what we find."  
  
A short time later everyone disperses and heads back out to work. The four medics return to the station since no calls had come in after about ten minutes. When Bobby and Alex go in, Bobby starts thinking about the last time they'd come back like this what had resulted and pushed the thought back.  
  
"You ok?" Alex asked as they headed upstairs.  
  
"I'll be fine. Just was thinking about yesterday." He replied.  
  
"Do you really think Craig is the one that did it?" Alex asked.  
  
"The description sounds like him and none of us had on a paramedic T-shirt yesterday, we all had our uniforms on. So he's the only person I could logically see doing it. Just look at what he's done already." Bobby replied.  
  
Alex nodded her head sympathetically and when they crested the top of the stairs to the kitchen area Jimmy asks, "Look at what who's done already?"  
  
"I'll tell you later Jimmy." Alex says softly, watching Bobby head toward the bunks, assuming he's going to call and check on Kim.  
  
After Bobby was upstairs Jimmy asked, "What's all this about?"  
  
"There might be a lead across the street. Someone might have seen the person who might have poisoned Kim leaving the firehouse yesterday after we'd all finished with the kid with seizures." Alex said.  
  
"Really that's great, right?" Jimmy asked somewhat confused.  
  
"Yeah it is, but the description matches someone who used to work here." Alex replied.  
  
"Used to?" Jimmy said; "They think it was what's his name."  
  
"Craig?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, that son of a bitch." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Faith is running his name through the system to see if he has any past history that we should be made aware of." Alex said.  
  
"Now that you think about it, he could have done it because look at what all he's done to Kim already." Jimmy commented, thinking back to the stuff that Craig had pulled before he left the station.  
  
"That's what Bobby said." Alex replied.  
  
Bobby lay across his bunk talking to Kim on his cell phone, seeing how she was doing. He'd decided he'd tell her about the lead when he got home from work that evening, that way they could talk about it face to face and not over the phone.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, how you feeling?" he asked.  
  
"Pretty good. Just relaxing with Joey and Keira and watching a movie." She replied, leaning her back against the couch and Keira leaning her back against Kim's stomach.  
  
"What movie you three watching?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Ice Age." She replied.  
  
A smile broke across his face as he heard Keira start to coo and giggle through the phone.  
  
"She's been doing that through the whole movie when she sees the saber- tooth cat." Kim said smiling.  
  
"I guess you could say it's her first favorite movie character." He said with a laugh.  
  
"Yep." Kim replied.  
  
Kim heard the loudspeaker over his phone and knew a call had come in.  
  
"I'll see you later sweetheart, gotta run." He said, heading downstairs.  
  
"Ok, be careful and I'll see you after work." She said softly.  
  
"Don't worry, I will." He replied, before hanging up the phone.  
  
By the end of the movie, Keira had worn herself out and fallen asleep. Kim gently picked her up and carried her into the nursery. She gently laid her down and brushed her dark hair back and placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek and covered her with a soft blanket and went back out to where Joey was.  
  
"Keira asleep?" Joey asked when she came back to the living room.  
  
"Yeah, she's out like a light." Kim replied to her son.  
  
"Do you think when she gets older she'll try and do what I do?" Joey asked.  
  
"Probably, because she'll see you as a role model. I know when Aunt Melanie was little she'd try and copy everything I did." Kim said.  
  
"Really? What did she do?" Joey asked eagerly.  
  
Kim knew that if Joey ever told Mel that she'd told him this she'd throw a fit but told him anyway.  
  
"There was one time I was getting ready to go out with some friends one summer when I was in high school. Mel had seen where grandma kept her make- up and was watching me put a little bit of make-up of my own on. She went and got into grandma's stuff and drug out all her make up and had it all over her face and clothes. As I headed down the hall she followed me into the living room when your grandmother shrieked at the top of her lungs at what Mel had done to herself and found the bathroom a total mess." Kim replied.  
  
"Aunt Mel did that! Grandma must have gone crazy!" Joey said between fits of laughter.  
  
"Oh believe me she did. When I turned around and saw what she had done, I knew she must have been watching me and decided to try and copy what I was doing." Kim said with a smile; "You can't tell Mel that I told you that or she'll have my head."  
  
"I won't say a word." Joey replied giving his mother a hug; "How bad did she look?"  
  
"It wasn't pretty. She had lipstick all over her face blush on her cheeks, forehead and nose. Thank goodness she'd left the mascara alone because that stuff wouldn't have come off for god knows how long." Kim said when she heard the lock on the door click.  
  
"How did grandma react to what she did?" Joey asked as Bobby walked in the door.  
  
"Not too well. She like to have never got all that stuff off her face. Needless to say she hid the make-up in a new place after that so she couldn't get into it anymore." Kim replied as Bobby sat down beside her on the couch.  
  
Bobby placed a gentle kiss on her lips and asked, "What have you two been talking about?"  
  
"The antics Aunt Mel got into when she was little." Joey replied excitedly.  
  
"I think its about time for someone's bedtime." Kim said, looking over at Joey.  
  
Joey began to whine about how he wasn't sleepy and asked, "Can I at least play my gameboy till I'm tired?"  
  
Kim gave him a stern look and said, "One hour with the gameboy then you're going to bed. Deal?"  
  
"Ok," Joey replied, heading to change into his pajamas and play with the gameboy in his room.  
  
After Joey was gone, she turned her attention back to Bobby and asked, "How was work tonight?"  
  
"Pretty good. The calls came at a moderate pace but no major calls." He replied; "The cops think they might have a lead on what happened yesterday."  
  
"They do?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, someone saw a white guy about 6'2 with brownish-black hair leave the firehouse wearing a paramedic T-shirt." Bobby replied.  
  
"That almost perfectly describes Craig. So they think he's the one that did this?" Kim questioned.  
  
"They're looking into it but he looks like the main suspect right now." Bobby replied.  
  
"What else is that jerk going to try pull? Hasn't he put us through enough already?" Kim asked softly.  
  
"I don't want to know. Hopefully this will be the end of it. He's not like us, something has to be fueling his actions. Maybe something from his childhood sent him off the deep end. Whatever the cause, we should still be prepared incase he'd try to pull another scheme off." Bobby replied, pulling her up off the couch. 


	62. Price to Pay

He led her back towards their room so they could relax and talk.  
  
"What did I do to him to cause him to target me like this?" she asked softly, looking out at the star filled skyline.  
  
Bobby had been changing clothes and couldn't believe what he'd heard her ask.  
  
"What?" he asked somewhat startled, turning to face her.  
  
"What did I possibly do to him to cause him to target me like this?" she asked once more feeling a ball of nervousness build up in her stomach.  
  
He crossed the distance of the room to where she was standing and turned her to face him, taking his right hand and raising her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. "You can't blame yourself for this. You didn't do anything to warrant what he's done to you. None of this is your fault sweetheart, none of it," He replied softly, encircling her with his arms hoping to ease her worries.  
  
She slipped her arms around his waist and placed her hands on the small of his back as she rested her forehead against his chest. He gently rubbed her back with his hands as they stood there. It made no sense to him why Craig had targeted her for all of this, all he knew was he hoped it ended soon. He hated seeing her living with the constant worry of whether Craig was watching or planning on doing something to her. Till this was all over he doubted things would ever be back to the way they were before. She looked up into his comforting brown eyes and for a moment forgot about all her worries.  
  
He felt her tense up briefly and figured she was thinking about something.  
  
"You ok?" he asked softly as he led her over to the edge of the bed and sat down beside her.  
  
"Yeah, just thinking about what I looked up earlier after you brought me home." She replied.  
  
"Did it have to do with cyanide?" he asked.  
  
She slowly nodded her head in response and he figured whatever it was really bothered her.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently, not wanting to upset her if she didn't want to talk.  
  
"Craig could have killed me yesterday, if he's the one that did this. I don't know how much he put into the bottle, but 0.05 g of that stuff is enough to kill a 154-lb human. I'm no where near that size so it would have taken less than that to kill me." she said shakily.  
  
He had no clue such a small amount of that stuff could be so lethal. Hearing her words truly frightened him, and made him realize how close he came to actually loosing her.  
  
"You're right we don't know how much he put into the bottle but you're alive and that's all that matters. Maybe it was a miracle we got that call and you didn't finish the bottle of soda." Bobby replied softly.  
  
Kim sighed softly and lay back on the bed, still unable to stop thinking about everything that had happened in the last 24 hours and said softly, "I feel so pathetic because I can't stop worrying about what he could pull next."  
  
"You're far from pathetic Kimmy. You have every right to worry about what he could do next. You're one of the strongest people I know and nothing could ever change that." He replied gently, resting his hand on her cheek; "So many people would just give in and accept what happens, but not you. If the average person went through what you've been through they would probably loose their will to go on and succumb to whatever happens. You're a fighter, one that won't back down and let someone like whoever did this win. If it was Craig then he will get what's coming to him. You know that as well as I do."  
  
She listened to the words he'd just said and knew he was right.  
  
"You're always so logical, its almost uncanny." she said softly, a small grin spreading across her face.  
  
Seeing a grin on her face made him smile and replied, "One of us has to be."  
  
A small laugh escaped her lips at his answer and she saw him smiling at her as she said back, "And it's safe to say it's not me."  
  
"You have your moments where you're just as logical as I am." He replied, helping her sit up.  
  
"Yeah, every once in a blue moon." She said smiling as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and moved her closer to where he sat.  
  
He gently turned her head towards his and said softly, "You're an amazing woman Kimmy. You've been overcome so much in your life and it's made you a better person in so many ways."  
  
She began to blush slightly at his words when he leaned in and gently kissed her. All the worries she'd been having began to go away, at least for the time being. They wouldn't be completely disappear till Craig left her alone for good. She slipped her arms around his neck as he gradually began to deepen the kiss between them. As the kiss ended, he caressed her cheek gently with his right hand. She sighed softly at his touch and closed her eyes briefly.  
  
He stretched out on the bed and slipped his arms around Kim's waist and gently pulled her back to where he lay. She eventually lay down and he slipped one arm around her waist and gently caressed her abdomen with feather light strokes. He heard her breathing deepen as she fell asleep and soon he too had drifted off to sleep.  
  
The next morning Kim woke up to find Bobby's arms still wrapped around her. She turned in his arms till she was facing him and began to place gentle kisses on his face before softly kissing his lips. Glancing over at the alarm clock she saw it was only 5:30 am and went back to sleep, resting her forehead against his chest. He felt her soft kisses on his face and smiled to himself. Feeling her rest her forehead against him and feeling her breathing deepen once more as her warm breath hit his chest each time she exhaled told him she was going back to sleep. Around 9:30 the two awoke rather unexpectedly. Joey was surprised no one was up. He quietly slipped into their room and hopped up onto the bed beside his mother. Unfortunately the way she'd been laying, her face ended up in Bobby's neck when the bed moved and she quickly jerked her head back, but didn't realize she was so close to the headboard of the bed.  
  
Bobby had felt the bed move sharply and felt Kim's face pressing into his neck. A split second later he heard a loud thump and heard her moan. After pulling her face away from Bobby's neck, the back of her head hit the headboard from the startle of being woken up.  
  
"Joey! What was that for?" she asked, feeling a splitting headache coming on from where her head had slammed into the headboard.  
  
Kim rolled over onto her back and looked up at Joey, who had an apologetic look on his face.  
  
"I didn't mean to scare you." he said softly; "Is your head ok?"  
  
"I know you didn't mean to sweetheart. It will be as soon as the headache goes away." She replied softly, seeing Bobby sitting up beside her.  
  
Bobby saw the worried look on Joey's face and said, "She'll be fine Joey, just be more careful next time. With everything that's been going on she's a little jumpy."  
  
"Will you go see if your sister is up yet?" Kim asked her son.  
  
Joey nodded his head and headed across the hall to check on Keira.  
  
"Your head ok?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Other than having a headache from hell its fine." She replied, rubbing her temples gently.  
  
"Want me to bring you an aspirin?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, seeing Joey coming back into the room.  
  
"She's awake. When I went in she was babbling at the toys hanging off the mobile." Joey said.  
  
"Ok, thanks sweetheart." Kim replied, getting ready to get up.  
  
Bobby saw her moving to get up and said, "You stay put, I'll change her and bring her in to you and get a bottle for her."  
  
"It's just a headache, I'll be fine." She replied, getting ready to stand.  
  
"No piense acerca de lo Kimmy." Bobby warned; "Usted necesita descansar." {Don't think about it Kimmy. You need to rest.}  
  
He put a whole new meaning on the word overprotective and it was getting rather annoying. Granted at work or something she wouldn't have complained but they were at home and it was starting to bug her. She huffed in annoyance but complied with what he asked and he got up and headed towards the nursery.  
  
"Hey Joey, can you go get a bottle out of the fridge for your sister?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Sure," he replied, heading to do what Bobby had asked.  
  
When Bobby walked into the nursery Keira had heard the door opening and began to babble contently to herself again and when she saw her father cooed excitedly.  
  
"Someone's in a good mood this morning." Bobby said smiling as he picked his daughter up and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.  
  
Keira squealed loudly when he picked her up and smiled, kicking with her tiny little legs against his stomach. He quickly changed her and the whole time she babbled to herself, she was starting to make consonant sounds and he figured it wouldn't be long before she said her first word. When he picked her up after changing her, she squealed loudly once more and he knew that if she did that with the headache Kim had it would only make things worse.  
  
"Ssssh sweetheart, mommy's not feeling good. Try and be quiet." He said softly, even though he knew she had no clue what he'd just said he did know that she would pick up on emotions and realize something wasn't right.  
  
He carried her across the hall to where Kim sat in bed, propped up on pillows against the headboard. Keira babbled the whole time and squealed excitedly when she saw her mother.  
  
He saw her wince at the squeal and tried to quiet Keira down.  
  
"I'll be right back with her bottle and your aspirin." He replied, passing Keira to her.  
  
"Ok," Kim replied as he left the room.  
  
She looked down at her daughter's smiling face and brushed her dark hair back from her face and said, "Good morning sweetie, aren't you an active one today."  
  
Several minutes later Bobby returned with the aspirin and water for her and a warmed bottle for Keira.  
  
"I'll get started on breakfast." He said, taking a seat next to Kim; "Do you want to meet with the guy who might have seen the perp leaving the station after work?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm interested in hearing what he saw." She replied as she fed Keira the bottle; "I'll be in as soon as she's finished with the bottle."  
  
Bobby nodded his head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips and a tender kiss on Keira's head before he left the room to fix breakfast. As he walked past Joey sitting on the couch watching cartoons he asked, "Want to help me fix breakfast?"  
  
"Sure," Joey replied, heading into the kitchen with Bobby.  
  
"What should we fix?" Bobby asked, looking in the fridge to see what all they had.  
  
"Pancakes?" Joey suggested.  
  
"That sounds good, why don't you get out the strawberries and start cleaning them to go with the pancakes." Bobby said, getting the materials he'd need to make home made pancakes.  
  
Joey got the container of strawberries out of the fridge and grabbed a stool and put it next to the sink and got a large bowl and filled it with water and put the strawberries into the water to soak for several minutes. After the strawberries had soaked Joey asked, "Can I go ahead and cut the tops off them?"  
  
"Go ahead, just be careful." He replied, looking over at Joey as he got started cutting the tops off the strawberries.  
  
An hour later Keira had finished the bottle and began to coo and laugh. The aspirin Bobby had brought her and helped ease the pain from the headache so her laughs and squeals didn't make the pain any worse. Kim scooted over and lay Keira down beside her and gently tickled her, causing her to laugh and giggle. She managed to get a hold of one of the sheets on the bed and pulled at it, pulling it over her face, laughing and kicking the entire time. Kim smiled and pulled the sheet back away from her, which made her babble, laugh and kick excitedly at the game.  
  
Bobby had finished making the pancakes for them and had gotten everything ready for the three of them to eat breakfast. He heard the loud giggles and squeals coming from the bedroom and decided to go see what they were doing. Joey set the table for the three of them while he went to get Kim and Keira. He stood in the doorway and saw Keira pulling the sheet over her head and Kim lying on her stomach next to her pulling the sheet back away causing her to laugh even harder.  
  
"Come on you two, breakfast is ready." Bobby said smiling from the doorway watching the game two of them were playing.  
  
Kim rolled onto her back and sat up, looking over at Bobby and said, "What did you two fix?"  
  
"You'll see when you come in," he replied as she picked up Keira and headed towards him.  
  
She put Keira in her playpen in the living room and let her play while they ate. When Kim came into the kitchen she saw that they'd made pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. After they'd eaten, Joey went in and played some video games while Kim headed in with Keira to give a bath before she took a shower. Keira was full of energy and was kicking and splashing around in the water giggling and laughing the whole time. After she'd finished she wrapped her in a towel and headed back to the nursery to get her dressed. Bobby came in to see how they were doing and noticed that it looked like there had been a water fight because of the water spots on Kim's top and wet hair.  
  
"You two get into a water fight?" he asked.  
  
"No, munchkin here wanted to splash the whole time." She replied fastening the snaps on the outfit she'd just put on Keira and scooping her up from the changing table.  
  
Keira had started to yawn and settle down and Bobby took her from Kim and said, "I'll rock her to sleep while you go take a shower."  
  
Kim placed a gentle kiss on his lips and whispered into his ear, "¿Por qué no me une usted después que ella está dormida?" {Why don't you join me after she's asleep?}  
  
"Acabo de hacer eso." he replied with a smile. {I just might do that.}  
  
Keira had gone to bed ten minutes later and he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before laying her down. He saw Joey playing video games in the living room and headed into the bathroom. Kim had just finished washing her hair when she heard the bathroom door open and then close. He slipped into the shower with her, wrapping his arms around her waist and began to nuzzle her neck with his lips. She pivoted in his arms to where she was facing him he gently cupped her face in his hands and kissed her as the hot water flowed over them. The two spent fifteen minutes together under the soothing hot water when Kim heard Keira starting to fuss down the hall.  
  
"I'd better go see what she wants," Kim said softly, reaching for a towel as she stepped out of the shower.  
  
Bobby placed one final kiss on her lips before she headed to check on their daughter. Kim headed quickly down the hall to check and see what was wrong.  
  
"What's the matter sweetheart?" she asked softly, picking Keira up. She began to stop crying as Kim rocked her gently and rubbed her back trying to calm her down.  
  
Five minutes later Bobby emerged from the bathroom and headed in to see if everything was all right.  
  
"She ok?" he asked, crouching beside the rocking chair.  
  
"I think something must have scared her because she doesn't need changed and she just ate." Kim replied, looking over at Bobby.  
  
"I've got an idea of what might have scared her." Joey said as he headed past the doorway of the nursery.  
  
"What's that?" Bobby asked, gently rubbing Keira's back.  
  
"I heard what sounded like a car backfire outside. It was pretty loud so that might have frightened her." Joey replied.  
  
After she'd settled down, Joey went to play with his gameboy in his room and Bobby had picked up Keira so Kim could go get dressed. As he held her he spoke softly to her in Spanish noticing the soothing effect it had on her. He moved the rocking chair close to the window so he could hold her in his lap and let her see what was going on outside. She squealed excitedly whenever a pigeon flew by the window and watched the people down below.  
  
When it was time for him to go to work he'd gotten everything together and said to Kim, "Try to have those two in bed by the time I get off work so we can talk with the officer who might have seen something."  
  
"Ok, call me to let me know if something changes and he doesn't come with you." Kim replied.  
  
"I will." He replied as Joey came into the room.  
  
"You be good kiddo," he said to Joey, ruffling his hair.  
  
Joey laughed and replied, "Don't worry I'll be good."  
  
He gave Keira a kiss on the forehead and then kissed Kim goodbye as he headed out to the firehouse for his shift.  
  
When he arrived that afternoon he changed and was talking with Alex while they worked on the rig when Faith and Bosco came out looking for him. He heard them talking as they crossed the street and noticed the topic was of Craig and began to wonder if they'd found anything out when they ran him through the system. Faith noticed the doors to the rig open and took a hunch and figured Bobby was getting ready for his shift and headed towards the open doors.  
  
"Hey Bobby, nothing came back when we ran Craig through the system." Faith said.  
  
"So he's a first timer, he certainly thinks like someone who's done this before." Bobby replied.  
  
"I agree with you there. You and Kim still want to meet with Kevin?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, she wants to hear what he saw." He said in return.  
  
"When is good for you two?" Faith asked.  
  
"Is tonight after the shift too soon?" he questioned.  
  
"Bosco, go see if Kevin's here yet and if so bring him out here would you?" Faith said to her partner.  
  
He nodded his head and went into the station looking for the young officer.  
  
"If he's here I'll let you two work out the details." Faith said.  
  
A short time later Bosco found Kevin getting ready and said, "Hey Kevin, would you like to meet the husband of the medic that got poisoned the other day?"  
  
"Sure, does he know that I'm the one that saw the guy leave?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, we told him yesterday." Bosco replied.  
  
Bosco and Kevin headed across the street to where Faith was. She noticed him coming and said to Bobby, "Bosco found him."  
  
When the two men made it back over Faith said, "Kevin this is Bobby Caffey."  
  
"It's nice to meet you Kevin. Thank you for coming forward with what you saw the day my wife was poisoned." He said, shaking the young man's hand.  
  
"I'm glad to help. How is she doing by the way?" Kevin asked.  
  
"Much better. She'll be back to work Monday. The doctors wanted her to take a couple days off to get back on her feet after what happened." Bobby replied.  
  
"I can't imagine what that must have been like for you when you found out what happened to her." Kevin said sadly.  
  
"It was one of the scariest moments of my life seeing her condition change so rapidly. In a span of 30 minutes she went from talking and laughing to being able to hardly breathe and going unconscious." Bobby said; "Would you like to meet her?"  
  
"Sure. I'm sure you both are probably wondering what I saw so I'd be happy to fill you all in. Plus you all might be able to come up with who might have done this to her." Kevin replied.  
  
"When would be a good time for you?" Bobby questioned.  
  
"I'm going out of town for a few days so would tonight be too soon?" he asked.  
  
"That sounds fine to me, I'll call her and let her know so she can have the kids in bed before the end of the shift." Bobby replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you at the end of the shift then." Kevin said, noticing it was almost time for roll call.  
  
"Sounds good, you all have a safe shift." Bobby replied watching the three officer's leave.  
  
Bobby quickly called Kim and let her know that they would be meeting with the young man who'd seen the perp leaving the firehouse that way she could get the kids in bed before he got home so they could talk without having the kids be an interruption.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, I met the guy who saw the person leaving the firehouse and he said meeting tonight wouldn't be a problem." Bobby said.  
  
"Ok, I'll have Joey and Keira in bed by 10 or 10:30 that way they won't be a nuisance while he's here." Kim replied; "What's this person like?"  
  
"He's relatively young for a cop but is very well mannered. He makes Bosco look like an uncivilized hot head." Bobby replied laughing.  
  
Kim couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sounds like a complete opposite to Bosco."  
  
"He is trust me. Gotta run a call just came in. I'll see you soon sweetheart." He said, heading to the driver's side of the bus.  
  
"Ok, have a safe shift and I'll see you this evening." She replied before hanging up.  
  
After her conversation with Bobby she found Keira and Joey playing in the living room floor.  
  
"You two having fun?" Kim asked stretching out in the floor with them.  
  
"Yeah." Joey said smiling; "Was I this hyper when I was her size?"  
  
"Oh yes, if not more so than her." Kim replied smiling.  
  
Joey laughed at his mother's response when she said, "When you were little the slightest thing was amusing to you."  
  
"Really?" he asked laughing as he held Keira so she was sitting up.  
  
"Yep," Kim replied smiling, gently tickling her daughter's stomach, making her laugh and giggle.  
  
Keira contently sat and babbled out loud to them and they talked back to her as if she were making perfect sense, making her smile and squeal excitedly. When it was time for her bottle, Joey kept her occupied while Kim heated the bottle for her. After making sure it wasn't too hot to burn her mouth, she came back into the living room and sat the bottle and towel down on the couch and picked Keira up off the floor and cradled her in her lap. Joey started up playing video games while she fed Keira and noticed her glancing towards the TV screen seeing what was going on. Her thoughts drifted back to meeting the young officer who might have seen who had slipped the powder into her soda at the firehouse and wondered what she was going to hear from him, but knew only time would tell that story.  
  
~~~  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
No piense acerca de lo Kimmy. Usted necesita descansar.  
  
Don't think about it Kimmy. You need to rest.  
  
¿Por qué no me une usted después que ella está dormida?  
  
Why don't you join me after she's asleep?  
  
Acabo de hacer eso.  
  
I just might do that. 


	63. Deliberation

When Keira went in for a nap, she and Joey began straightening up the apartment since they were having company that evening. Surprisingly enough the apartment wasn't all that dirty, which was a shock especially with having a 9 yr old and a 4-month-old in the house. She'd planned on fixing Hamburger and Macaroni Casserole for dinner for her and Joey and would put the rest in the fridge for Bobby so he could eat when he got in. While she cooked dinner, Joey played video games in the living room and caught whiff of the fragrant aromas coming from the kitchen as the casserole baked and paused the game and came into the kitchen to see what his mom was making.  
  
"Are you fixing dinner?" Joey asked as he came in.  
  
"Yep, smell good?" she replied.  
  
"Yeah! What is it?" Joey said in return.  
  
"Hamburger and Macaroni Casserole." She replied, seeing the look of excitement cross his face.  
  
"How much longer till its done?" Joey asked excitedly.  
  
"You're hopeless," Kim said laughing as she threw away the empty boxes and packages she'd used to fix dinner; "Not for about 30-45 minutes."  
  
Joey laughed and turned the light in the oven on and looked at what was cooking when his mother asked, "Look good so far?"  
  
"Yes!" Joey replied eagerly.  
  
"Let's go check on your sister while dinner cooks," Kim suggested to her son.  
  
"Ok," Joey said in return, following his mother towards the nursery.  
  
Keira woke up from her nap and began to babble at the mobile hanging on her crib. It was around 8 so it was about time for her next feeding. Kim heated up a bottle for her and checked the temperature before she headed into the nursery. She put a towel over her shoulder and placed the bottle on the coffee table in the living room and headed to go get her daughter. She found her laughing at one of the toys in the crib since she'd rolled onto her right side. Keira began to reach for the stuffed toy but overshot the distance to it. Kim smiled as she entered the room and heard Keira squeal with excitement and picked her up.  
  
"You're just full of energy this evening, aren't you." Kim said smiling, as Keira babbled and cooed in response.  
  
Joey heard his sister cooing as his mother brought her into the living room and asked, "She still hyper?"  
  
"Yep, she is." Kim replied taking a seat on the couch and cradling her daughter in one arm and reaching for the bottle with the other.  
  
As Keira contently drank from the bottle, Joey went back to playing the game he was playing. Joey loved having a younger sibling and began to wonder about the possibility of his mother having another baby. He decided not to ask about what he was wondering, since after all Keira was rather young and he couldn't imagine what it would be like having two young babies in the apartment. After she'd finished the bottle, Kim put her down in the playpen for a bit to go check on dinner and make sure everything was doing ok. While Kim was checking on dinner the phone began to ring and she grabbed the cordless that was sitting on the counter and found Bobby on the other end.  
  
"How's everything going this evening?" he asked as Alex drove.  
  
"Pretty good, just checking on dinner which is in the oven." She replied, cracking the door to the oven to peer inside.  
  
"What's on the menu for tonight?" he asked.  
  
"Hamburger and Macaroni Casserole," she replied.  
  
"Trying something new this evening?" Bobby asked curiously.  
  
"Yep, thought I'd cook something different for a change." She said grinning to herself.  
  
"How are the kids doing?" he asked.  
  
"Joey's playing video games as usual and Keira is as hyper as ever." She replied.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Bobby teased.  
  
"Nothing darling." Kim replied almost ready to laugh; "Joey and I plan on wearing her out so hopefully she'll settle down later."  
  
"Let's hope so." He replied smirking.  
  
"You'd better behave or no casserole for you." she retorted.  
  
"You wouldn't do that to your poor toiling husband would you?" he teased.  
  
Kim began to laugh at his statement and replied, "Nah, I couldn't do it even if I tried."  
  
"That's a relief to hear," he said smirking, seeing Alex about ready to bust out laughing.  
  
"I'll see you when I get off this evening and bring our guest over after the shift." He replied.  
  
"Ok, take care and I'll see you around 11:30." She said in return.  
  
"Yo lo amo novio." Bobby said, before hanging up. {I love you sweetheart.}  
  
"Yo lo amo también. Véalo cuando usted obtiene hogar." Kim replied as she hung up the phone. {I love you too. See you when you get home.}  
  
Since dinner was still cooking in the oven she and Joey began the arduous task of tiring out Keira so she'd sleep that evening. Fifteen minutes later dinner was finished and she and Joey took a break and put Keira in the playpen while they ate and let her play in there.  
  
"What did you think of dinner?" Kim asked her son once he'd finished eating.  
  
"I loved it! Definitely worth fixing again." He said with a smile on his face.  
  
"I'll add the recipe to the list of fix again dishes for you all," she replied grinning, storing the recipe in a box with the others she kept; "Come on and let's wear your sister out shall we?"  
  
The two of them walked back into the living room and Kim picked up Keira and took a seat on the couch, having Keira sitting on her stomach with her back propped up against her legs. After about an hour and a half of work they finally succeeded in tiring Keira out. It even wore Joey out, which was a good thing and both of them were sound asleep by 10:30. Around 11:10 the phone rang and when Kim answered it found Bobby on the other end.  
  
"On your way home?" she asked.  
  
"Yep. The kids get to bed ok?" he said in response.  
  
"Yeah, they've been out since 10:30." She replied.  
  
"Wow, what did you do to them?" he asked laughing.  
  
"Joey wore himself out trying to tire out Keira so she'd get to sleep without much fuss." Kim replied.  
  
"That's a good way to tire anyone out, trying to wear down a hyper four month old. I'm surprised you aren't in bed after that." Bobby said chuckling.  
  
"I actually feel pretty good. Although for a while I never thought we'd get Keira to the point to where she'd go to sleep." She replied grinning.  
  
"I should be home in about ten minutes or so, Alex and I just finished inventory and I'm waiting on Kevin." Bobby said, as he waited outside the firehouse next to his car.  
  
"Ok, I'll be here. Dinner's in the fridge so after we talk with Kevin you can fix a plate and tell me if its worth cooking again." Kim replied.  
  
"Sounds good. See you in a few." He said in response.  
  
"Ok, be careful on your way home." She replied as she hung up the phone.  
  
She took some of Keira's toys back to the nursery and put them up after she'd gotten off the phone with Bobby. Then went ahead and got started on the dinner dishes since there weren't that many of them and got everything squared away and waited for Bobby and Kevin to arrive.  
  
Five minutes after Bobby got off the phone with Kim, he saw Kevin leaving the precinct. Kevin noticed him standing next to his car and headed in his direction.  
  
"You have a ride?" Bobby asked.  
  
"I normally take a cab home," he replied.  
  
"Hop in and I'll give you a lift over and take you home." Bobby said in return.  
  
"Thanks," Kevin replied as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car.  
  
"So, how long you and your wife been together?" Kevin asked as they drove.  
  
"It will be two years next May." He replied.  
  
"You two meet at work?" Kevin asked.  
  
"Yeah, she's been my partner for the last five years." Bobby replied smiling.  
  
"That's great that you two get to work together still." Kevin said in response.  
  
"We can pretty muchly know what the other is going to do when we get a call, which makes things run a lot smoother." Bobby said in return as they pulled up to the apartment complex.  
  
The two of them headed up to the apartment, still talking back and forth. Kim had just finished drying the dishes and putting them up and was drying her hands on a towel when she heard the front door being unlocked. She quickly put the towel down and headed into the living room as the door opened and they walked in.  
  
After he'd closed the door he turned to Kevin and said, "Kevin I'd like you to meet my wife Kim. "  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," the young officer said, extending his hand.  
  
"Likewise," she replied smiling, shaking his hand politely.  
  
The three took a seat in the living room and Kevin noticed a picture with them and the kids and said, "You've got two beautiful children."  
  
Kim smiled and replied, "Joey is 9, he's from my first marriage. Keira's four months old and as hyper as ever."  
  
After they'd talked about Joey and Keira for a bit, Kevin began to tell them what he saw that fateful afternoon.  
  
"My partner Nick Tuero and I had just come back in from making an arrest and he'd started the paperwork and I came back out to get something out of the RMP. I saw what was happening with the kid and watched for a bit and went back inside. My partner asked me to go back out and get something out of the RMP for him. When I came back out I'd just gotten into the car and reached over and got what he needed and was about ready to get out when I saw a white guy about 6'2 with brownish black hair leaving the firehouse rather quickly. He had a suspicious aire about him that I picked up on immediately. But what I noticed was odd was he was wearing a paramedic T- shirt and began to wonder why he was leaving because it was well into the shift and found it odd to see him leaving like that." Kevin said to the two of them.  
  
"That sounds like Craig alright." Kim said, looking over to Bobby.  
  
"Who's Craig?" Kevin asked curiously.  
  
"Craig Anderson. He was a paramedic for a short time. Doc and Carlos trained him during the time she was off on maternity leave. I ended up working with him the week before she came back and the guy just about drove me crazy. Then when he comes back two days later after she'd come back its like he was a whole different person. He's been nothing but trouble to us since. This is the closest I've come to loosing her because of what he's done, if he's the one that did this." Bobby replied.  
  
"What did he give you?" Kevin asked.  
  
"He slipped cyanide powder into the soda bottle I had in the firehouse when we were working on that kid with the seizures." Kim replied.  
  
"That is some pretty vile stuff he gave you." Kevin said shaking his head.  
  
"I know, from what little research I did into it yesterday when I was released from the hospital, 0.05 g of that stuff can kill a 154 lb. human." Kim said in response.  
  
"You are one lucky woman then. Do you have any idea how much was in the bottle?" he asked.  
  
Kim shook her head and said, "No we don't know. I'm almost afraid to find out to be honest with you."  
  
"I would be too." Kevin said in agreement.  
  
The three sat and talked for about another half an hour. Before Bobby left to take Kevin home, Kim said, "I appreciate you talking with us and letting us know what you saw."  
  
"I'm just glad everything turned out ok for you all, because I had no clue what that guy had done until Officer Yokas told me what happened. Hopefully we can nail that guys ass, because if it is this Craig person he's caused you all enough heartache." Kevin replied.  
  
"If it was him, he definitely has caused us a lot of trouble." Bobby said in agreement; "I'll be back in a few as soon as I take Kevin home."  
  
"Ok, I'll see you when you get back. Thanks again for speaking with us Kevin." Kim replied.  
  
"No problem," Kevin said back as he and Bobby left.  
  
While Bobby drove Kevin home the two talked back and forth about Kim and the kids.  
  
"You're a lucky man to have such a wonderful family." Kevin said; "If you don't mind me asking, what caused her to leave her first husband?"  
  
"I know. He messed around on her with her own sister one evening." Bobby replied.  
  
"Is she still on amicable terms with the guy after what he did?" Kevin asked.  
  
"It took a while but yeah. We all work together down at the 55, he's a firefighter." Bobby said in response as he pulled up to where Kevin lived.  
  
"I appreciate the ride. I hope everything works out and they catch whoever did this." Kevin replied as he got out of the car.  
  
"Thanks, I'll see you around sometime." Bobby said, getting ready to drive off to head back home.  
  
Kim fixed a plate for Bobby and warmed it and went check on the kids. She peeked in on Keira who was still sound asleep and looked in on Joey to make sure he wasn't up playing with his game boy. He too was out like a light and she quietly closed the door to his room and headed down the hall when Bobby came back.  
  
"Man, whatever you fixed for dinner smells wonderful." He said, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.  
  
"I hope you like it," she replied smiling, leading him into the kitchen.  
  
"We taking Joey to Jimmy's tomorrow? He didn't mention anything at work about coming to get him tonight." Bobby asked.  
  
"Nope, he and Alex have a something planned this weekend. I'd planned on letting Joey sleep in a bit this weekend, since I'm pretty sure he doesn't get him up like we do." Kim replied.  
  
"How about we all sleep in this weekend and just relax." Bobby suggested, taking a seat at the table.  
  
"Sounds like a wonderful idea to me. We could even take the kids down to the park or something later in the afternoon" Kim replied.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Bobby said in agreement as he continued eating.  
  
While he ate she went and changed for bed and when she came back several minutes later.  
  
"You are definitely making that again. I don't know where you got the recipe but it was fantastic." Bobby said to her once she'd returned.  
  
Kim laughed and said, "You sound just like Joey."  
  
In a sudden motion he stood up picked her up catching her by surprise and said, "It's getting late don't you think?"  
  
"Not really, its not like we're getting up early or anything." She replied smiling.  
  
"Como ellos dice, temprano a la cama para subir temprano." He said with a sneaky grin on his face. {Like they say, early to bed early to rise.}  
  
"¡Oye ahora! Planeo a aprovechar de una oportunidad de dormir en. Olvídese de subir temprano." Kim replied laughing. {Hey now! I plan on taking advantage of an opportunity to sleep in. Forget early to rise.}  
  
Bobby laughed at her response as he carried her down the hall and said with a grin, "¿Qué haré jamás yo con usted Kimmy?" {What am I ever going to do with you Kimmy?}  
  
Spanish Translations  
  
Yo lo amo novio.  
  
I love you sweetheart.  
  
~~~  
  
Yo lo amo también. Véalo cuando usted obtiene hogar.  
  
I love you too. See you when you get home.  
  
~~~  
  
Como ellos dice, temprano a la cama para subir temprano.  
  
Like they say, early to bed early to rise.  
  
~~~  
  
¡Oye ahora! Planeo a aprovechar de una oportunidad de dormir en. Olvídese de subir temprano.  
  
Hey now! I plan on taking advantage of an opportunity to sleep in. Forget early to rise.  
  
~~~  
  
¿Qué haré jamás yo con usted Kimmy?  
  
What am I ever going to do with you Kimmy? 


	64. Gathering

The next morning everyone slept in. It had been a very rough week on all of them so they all were enjoying the extra sleep. Keira woke up around 9 and Kim got up and took care of her. After she'd been fed and changed she carried her in to check on Joey and then proceeded in to where Bobby was still sleeping. Kim propped several pillows up behind her back and sat Keira on her stomach. She babbled contently and Kim talked back to her which caused her to laugh and coo even more. Bobby heard her babbling and began mumble in his sleep, making Kim almost crack up laughing.  
  
"Orange, yellow, orange, yellow - I don't know!" she heard him say as he rolled over next to her; "Oooo right there, God that's amazing."  
  
As she listened to what all he was saying, she looked at Keira and said softly, "You're daddy's silly isn't he baby?"  
  
"Mmmm ice cream," he said, still asleep, causing Kim to almost bust out laughing.  
  
Keira squealed loudly and began to laugh at her mother. Her squeal was so loud it woke up Bobby.  
  
"You two having fun over there?" he asked lazily as he lay on his side facing them.  
  
"Yep. I never knew you talked in your sleep." Kim replied laughing, which got Keira started in as well.  
  
"No I don't," he said with a grin, gently tickling Keira.  
  
"Oh yes you do. I heard you say 'Orange, yellow, orange, yellow - I don't know!', 'Oooo right there, God that's amazing' and 'Mmmm ice cream'" Kim replied laughing.  
  
He blushed at what he had said inadvertently while he'd been asleep.  
  
"I do believe someone's embarrassed Keira." Kim said giggling at her daughter.  
  
"Come here you two," Bobby said laughing, grabbing Kim by the waist and pulling her over to where he'd sat up in bed.  
  
He pulled Kim over into his lap and wrapped his arms around her and Keira.  
  
"You two are nothing but trouble, you know that?" he asked grinning, placing a nipping kiss on Kim's shoulder.  
  
"Of course we are, aren't we baby?" Kim said to her daughter, hearing her squeal.  
  
Bobby shook his head and laughed and said, "When she gets older things are going to be interesting."  
  
"You know they will be." Kim replied as he pinched her waist causing her to jump.  
  
She gently elbowed him in the stomach and said to Keira, "Your daddy's definitely silly, isn't he."  
  
Keira smiled and cooed in response, she was starting to calm down since she was getting tired and Kim got up and carried her across the hall after she'd fallen asleep and checked on Joey who was still asleep.  
  
"Both of them asleep?" Bobby asked when she returned.  
  
"Yep," she replied as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to bed.  
  
"Shall we go back to sleep for another hour or so?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," she replied, pulling the blankets up around them.  
  
They slept till around 11:30 and got up. Kim was the first to wake up, followed by Bobby a short time later.  
  
"I've still got left over Hamburger Macaroni Casserole, you want that for lunch or do we want to go out to lunch before we go to the park?" Kim asked.  
  
"If its warm enough want to have a picnic?" he suggested.  
  
"That sounds like fun," Kim replied; "I'm sure the kids would get a kick out of it."  
  
They both got up and began to get ready. Kim walked outside and got the paper and the mail and headed back inside after she'd put a pot of coffee on. After the coffee was done she sat and sipped on a cup of the steaming liquid while flipping through the paper. A few minutes later a very excited Joey came into the kitchen.  
  
"Are we really going on a picnic this afternoon?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, it's a little chilly outside so you'll have to dress warm." She replied.  
  
Joey headed back to his room to get dressed and Kim began to look through the advertisements in the paper. She saw a pretty 14k gold necklace that she really liked and thought about getting, but would decide on that later. Keira woke up again and she left the paper open on the page of the advertisement and went to check on her. When she walked in Keira smiled as Kim picked her up.  
  
"Let's get you dressed for a picnic sweetheart." Kim said as she got a warm outfit out for her and got her ready.  
  
After she'd gotten her ready, she carried her into the living room and put her in the playpen so she could get the stuff ready for the picnic itself. She put Keira's jacket on the couch and headed in and got the small cooler out from under the sink and began to fill it with ice so she could put the lunch meat, cheese and various other items that needed to stay cold. She got out a several bottles of water and had Joey pick out the bottle of soda he wanted to take with him and put it in the cooler as well. After Bobby got out of the shower, he came in and got out the remainder of the stuff while Kim went for a shower and got ready. After Kim got ready they loaded the stuff into a basket, got the stroller and diaper bag put in the car. Joey grabbed a football and brought it with him and Kim carried Keira while Bobby carried the stuff for lunch. They all headed out to the car and drove to a nearby park and unloaded the stuff. After finding a nice spot, they spread the blanket on the ground and got everything set up for lunch. Keira had fallen asleep on her way over so they put her in the stroller and let her sleep for a bit while they all had lunch.  
  
They sat and enjoyed some quality time together, talking as they ate.  
  
"Later can we pass the football?" Joey asked Bobby.  
  
"Sure thing kiddo, we've just got to be careful around your sister." Bobby replied, finishing up eating the sandwich he'd made.  
  
"Ok," Joey replied happily, starting to eat the other half to the sandwich he'd fixed.  
  
Kim had finished her pita bread sandwich and got out a bag to put the used paper plates in. After everyone had finished eating, Joey and Bobby headed to pass the football for a bit. Keira woke up shortly after they'd left and she lifted her from the stroller and got a bottle out of the diaper bag and fed her as she watched the two pass the football back and forth.  
  
Alex and Jimmy had gone out to an early movie and seen The Matrix Reloaded and afterwards had lunch together before deciding to take a walk through the park. The two walked along together side by side talking as they moved, when they noticed the group up ahead.  
  
"What did you think of the movie?" Jimmy asked, slipping his arm around her waist.  
  
"It wasn't bad at all. Makes you wonder what the third series in the trilogy will be like." Alex replied.  
  
"My thought's exactly." Jimmy said in response.  
  
"Is that Kim up ahead?" Alex asked.  
  
"It looks like it. Wanna see what they're up to?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Sure," Alex replied as Jimmy tightened his arm around her waist.  
  
Keira contently drank from the bottle, her brown eyes looking around her surroundings taking everything in. Kim watched Joey and Bobby passing the football back and forth when she heard someone call her name.  
  
"Kim!" Alex called out as she and Jimmy headed in her direction.  
  
She turned around and saw them headed in her direction and got up and headed towards them, with Keira still in her arms.  
  
"What are you all doing out here?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"We thought we'd bring the kids out for a picnic while the weather is still cooperating since it should start snowing soon." Kim replied.  
  
As the three of them talked, Bobby glanced over to check on Kim and Keira and didn't see them. He couldn't take his eyes off the ball that Joey had just thrown to him because if he looked away, chances are he'd get hit with it. After he'd caught the ball he turned and looked to see Kim talking to Alex and Jimmy.  
  
"Hey Joey, your dad and Alex are here." Bobby called out.  
  
"Really!" he exclaimed, looking towards his mother.  
  
"Yep. Come on and let's go see what they are up to." Bobby suggested.  
  
He didn't have to tell Joey twice because the kid took off at a full run towards them.  
  
"Here comes trouble," Alex said with a laugh, seeing Joey running in their direction.  
  
Jimmy began to laugh as Joey stopped running shortly before he reached where they were.  
  
"How have you been champ?" Jimmy asked his son.  
  
"Pretty good. Mom let me sleep in today like you normally do." He replied smiling.  
  
"She did eh?" Jimmy asked, giving Kim a look of surprise.  
  
"Yep, then we came and had a picnic." He said happily as Bobby joined them.  
  
"Hey you two, what are you all up to?" Bobby asked, as he picked Keira up from Kim.  
  
"Out for an afternoon walk after having lunch and a movie." Alex replied.  
  
"Sounds like fun. What did you all go see?" Kim asked.  
  
"The Matrix Reloaded." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Was it any good?" Bobby asked.  
  
"It wasn't bad although I liked the first one a bit better." Jimmy said back.  
  
Keira had begun to fuss and Bobby passed her back to Kim and she took her back over to the blanket to try and calm her down.  
  
"Either of you all want to pass a football with us?" Joey asked.  
  
"Sure," Jimmy replied.  
  
Alex declined and went and sat and talked to Kim while the guys passed the football.  
  
"So, how's the little one doing?" Alex asked.  
  
"She's doing good. Pretty soon she'll be talking. It's hard to believe she's grown so much so fast." Kim replied as Keira went back to sleep.  
  
"That's going to be exciting. You know Bobby and Joey will be excited when she says her first word." Alex said.  
  
"Yeah, bad thing is when she gets to talking, she'll probably start talking back to us." Kim said laughing.  
  
The two sat laughing while Keira slept in the stroller when the game of pass the football ended and the three headed back towards where they sat.  
  
"I wonder what they're laughing at." Jimmy asked Bobby.  
  
"Knowing those two, it's hard to tell." Bobby said laughing.  
  
Jimmy began laughing and agreed with what he'd said.  
  
When they got back over to where Kim and Alex were sitting around talking, the two snuck up behind them and simultaneously pinched both of them around the waist. Both women let out a short scream of surprise and saw Bobby and Jimmy standing behind them snickering.  
  
"You two did not just do that," Alex said.  
  
"I think we're gonna have to teach them a lesson, what do you think?" Kim asked Alex.  
  
"I think you're right Kim, they deserve it after that stunt." She replied laughing seeing Jimmy's face go pale.  
  
"I think it's time for us to go," Jimmy said before Alex could say anything else.  
  
"Why? You afraid of what we could come up with?" Alex asked innocently.  
  
Jimmy looked at her and then to Kim and back to her and said, "Let's see here. You and my ex-wife conspiring against me, yep, I'm afraid alright." 


	65. Somewhere Out There

Craig was sipping on a beer that same morning when Marc came in and began to talk with his cousin.  
  
"How'd the whole poisoning thing go?" he asked.  
  
"Worked like a charm," Craig replied with a grin.  
  
"What did you give her?" Marc asked.  
  
"Cyanide." He replied after taking a drink of beer.  
  
"You went straight for the strong stuff." Marc said amazed he'd started with something that nasty.  
  
"Yep. Don't worry I didn't use enough to kill her, that would have defeated the whole purpose of bringing you two out here if I'd done that." Craig said in response; "You two want to come with me so we can see how she's doing after her little incident?"  
  
"Sure, plus we can finally see her before the next part of the plan goes into place." Marc replied.  
  
"Yep, but keep in mind we will be at a distance, not up talking to her like I'm speaking with you right now. I'm pretty sure they've come to the conclusion it was me that put the powder in her drink." Craig warned.  
  
"Doesn't mean we can't take pictures of her to add to your collection." Marc suggested.  
  
"Go get your friend and we'll head out." Craig said, putting the beer bottle back in the fridge.  
  
A short time later, Marc was driving, with Craig in the passenger seat and Tony in the back.  
  
"Let's go by her apartment first and see if she's at home." Craig told his cousin, telling him how to get to where she lived.  
  
"You got it." Marc replied, following the instructions he'd given him.  
  
Several minutes later they slowed down and drove past the complex, noticing the Explorer was gone.  
  
"Not home this afternoon eh Kimmy?" Craig asked himself.  
  
"Where do you think she could be?" Tony asked from the back.  
  
"You said she had two kids right?" Marc replied.  
  
"Yeah. What are you getting at?" Craig asked.  
  
"Maybe they went to a park or something." Marc suggested; "Where's the closest one to here and we'll check it out."  
  
Craig gave him instructions on the nearest park and how to get there and the three of them set off. Five minutes later they pulled up and Marc heard Craig say, "Guess whose here."  
  
Marc parked the car and Tony grabbed the camera bag so they could take pictures. The three of them walked along till they saw the group of six and took a seat on one of the benches a safe distance away so they wouldn't be noticed. Craig got the camera out and got it set up and got the lens set for the distance away they were and began to take pictures. To the average person it looked like he was taking pictures of the scenery of the park, but in all actuality that the last thing they had in mind of doing.  
  
"I have to say Craig you certainly know how to pick a winner. She's definitely a hot little number if I do say so myself." Tony commented.  
  
"Tony man, you should have seen her in the Bahamas. The little ice blue number she wore one afternoon would have blown your mind." Marc replied.  
  
"What did this little number look like?" Craig asked.  
  
"It was an ice blue bikini. The bottoms were high cut, which showed off her petite figure and made her legs look longer than they actually are. The top was moderately revealing as well." Marc replied.  
  
The two men shuddered at the thought Marc had put into their minds of what she must have looked like.  
  
"I would have given anything to have seen her in that." Tony replied, slightly jealous of Marc for having seen her in that outfit.  
  
"I would have given anything to have had a camera to take a picture of her to show you all." Marc said in response.  
  
"Who all is with her?" Tony asked.  
  
"The light haired blonde is Alex, the Hispanic is Kim's husband Bobby, the other man with Alex is Jimmy, Kim's ex-husband. The two kids are Kim's, the littlest one's name is Keira, I never found out what the older one's name was." Craig replied taking another snapshot.  
  
Tony nodded his head in response, watching from a distance what was going on. When the group they were photographing appeared to be getting ready to leave, they packed up and headed back to the car so they wouldn't be noticed, everyone except Craig that is.  
  
Alex and Jimmy had left and Kim had begun to get everything ready to back home. While she was putting stuff in the basket, she got a strange feeling that she was being watched. She stopped what she was doing and looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary and went back to what she was doing. Bobby had taken a load of stuff to the car and was coming back for the next batch and noticed something wasn't sitting right with the way Kim was acting.  
  
"Everything ok?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.  
  
Kim had been packing the last bit of stuff up when she jumped when she felt Bobby's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Bobby! Don't sneak up on me like that." She said, going back to packing the stuff up.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Everything ok?" he asked once more.  
  
"I just got this weird feeling like we're being watched or something." She replied, glancing around the park again.  
  
Bobby looked around and didn't see anyone suspicious or odd lurking around nearby at first. As he took another look around, he noticed an individual sitting several feet away that quickly averted his gaze from their direction when he began to look that way. Craig noticed that Bobby was looking in his direction and quickly picked up the paper he'd brought with him and began to read it to remain inconspicuous.  
  
"I don't see anything out of the ordinary do you?" he asked, not wanting to cause her to worry.  
  
"I'm probably just over reacting after everything that happened last week." Kim replied, standing up after finishing packing up the last bit of stuff.  
  
"With everything that has happened you've got every right to be leery." Bobby said; "Let's get this stuff to the car and head home shall we?"  
  
Joey was sitting on the blanket playing with Keira while they got everything ready to take to the car. Before Kim bent down to pick her up and put her in the stroller, Bobby said quietly, "We'll figure out who was behind the incident last week, don't ever think we won't." and gently leaned in to kiss her.  
  
Craig watched from a distance with envy at what was going on.  
  
"Soon enough Kimmy, you'll be mine and they won't be able to do anything to stop me." Craig said silently; "They won't be able to do a damn thing about it except suffer."  
  
When the kiss between the two ended, Kim bent down and picked up Keira and fastened her into the stroller. Bobby folded up the blanket they'd been sitting on and passed it to Joey to carry as they headed out of the park towards the car. Craig had already headed out before they moved in the direction he'd been sitting in and was sitting in the car with Marc and Tony.  
  
"When will the next part of the plan go into motion?" Tony asked, watching the group loading stuff into the car for the trip home.  
  
"Lets wait a few weeks to let things die down a bit before we move ahead. I'm pretty sure they suspect it was me that did it so lets lay low a bit, then go ahead as planned." Craig said as Marc headed back to the apartment.  
  
"Sounds good. We can also make any last minute modifications to the plan if need be before we set it into motion as well." Marc replied.  
  
"Exactly. That way things will run smoothly and efficiently as well." Craig said in response, grinning evilly.  
  
The weekend seemed to fly by faster than they expected, and before they knew it Monday morning was upon them. As the morning routine was under way things were in full swing as they got things ready for work that afternoon and took care of routine chores.  
  
"You ready to hit the streets this afternoon?" Bobby asked as she sorted a basket of laundry.  
  
"Of course," she replied smiling, tossing a pair of socks at his retreating back.  
  
"What is this? A non lethal projectile?" he asked chuckling.  
  
"You can be such a smart ass sometimes, you know that?" Kim said laughing as he threw the socks back at her.  
  
"Oh I know alright." Bobby replied with a devious smile on his face.  
  
Kim rolled her eyes and went back to folding the laundry while he went and checked on Keira.  
  
That afternoon when they went into the firehouse, Faith and Bosco were waiting on them when they arrived.  
  
"Any new leads?" Bobby asked.  
  
"We're checking into Craig whereabouts. He must have moved recently because the address he had listed when he worked with you all is occupied by someone else. We're in the process of seeing if he's working around here and seeing what he's been up to since he seems to be the only likely suspect right now." Faith replied; "How'd everything go with Kevin last Friday?"  
  
"It went well. It was interesting to hear what he saw. I still think Craig's the one that did it because we all know none of the guys over at the house would do anything to either of us. Craig's the only one that has ever given us any problems." Bobby replied.  
  
"How are you feeling Kim?" Bosco asked.  
  
"Much better. I haven't felt any longstanding effects from the cyanide so I'm ready to get back into the swing of things." She replied.  
  
"It's good to see you back and in good shape after what happened last week." Faith said smiling.  
  
"It's good to be back." Kim replied.  
  
"You all have a safe shift." Bosco said as he and Faith headed over to the precinct.  
  
"Thanks," Kim replied as she and Bobby headed in to get changed and start on inventory for the afternoon. 


	66. Heart's Desire

Another stress filled week wound to a close, which meant a weekend of relaxation to recoup and prepare for the next unpredictable shift at work the following week. Jimmy had picked up Joey for the weekend so it was just Kim, Bobby and Keira home for the weekend.  
  
Bobby woke up early on Saturday and headed out to pick a few things up. He had wanted to get something for her, something special that would mean a whole lot to the both of them. A couple weeks before she'd been looking through some stuff in the paper and in one of the advertisements for a store in town and left the paper open on the page she'd been looking at. The next morning when he woke up he glanced at the open page on the table and saw the perfect thing for him to get her. On the page before him sat a picture of a couples heart necklace in 14k gold with two diamond accents that could be engraved with two names in black. That morning after looking at the paper he'd gone an ordered one of the necklaces for her with their names on it and he'd gotten the voice mail on his phone from the store that it was in. He quickly took a shower, changed and left her a note so she wouldn't worry and went to pick up the necklace as well as a few other things.  
  
The crisp morning air was definitely refreshing as he headed towards the store to pick up the necklace. He walked in and was greeted by one of the sales associates. While the lady went and got the necklace he'd ordered, he looked at some of the jewelry in the cases, a beautiful mystic fire topaz sterling silver filigree ring caught his attention but for now the only thing he was after was the necklace he'd ordered. Several moments later the associate returned with the necklace and the order receipt. After paying for the necklace he left the store and headed back out to his car. He sat in the driver's seat and opened the box the necklace was in to look at it and smiled. He reached over to the glove compartment and pulled out a list of stuff he needed to pick up in order to set the tone for this evening.  
  
Alex, Jimmy and Joey were coming to pick up Kim and Keira and they all were going to the zoo that afternoon so he could prepare dinner for the two of them. Alex and Jimmy knew what he was doing so they offered to get Kim out of the house for the afternoon. They'd even volunteered to watch Keira for the weekend, of course he didn't have a problem with it but they'd have to talk to Kim on that one. Store after store he went gathering everything on the list he needed and eventually headed home around 2:00. He was able to pick up everything he needed for the perfect evening. He'd gotten all the ingredients for the tequila chicken fettuccine alfredo, and even found the bottle of wine he'd been looking for.  
  
Kim woke up around 10:00 when Keira had begun to cry. She noticed Bobby was gone and picked up her daughter and headed into the kitchen where she found the note he'd left for her. She wondered what on earth he was picking up that early in the morning but went about her daily routine. Jimmy and Alex arrived around 12:30 to pick her and Keira up and together they headed out. Kim didn't know that everyone but her and Joey knew what was going on.  
  
"Mom, why didn't Bobby come with us?" Joey asked curiously.  
  
"He's out running some errands. I found the note he left when I got up this morning." Kim replied to her son.  
  
"He's definitely going to miss a good time, isn't he champ?" Jimmy said to his son.  
  
"Yeah!" Joey said excitedly, causing everyone to laugh.  
  
Jimmy and Alex exchanged smug looks at each other, wondering what all he had planned for that evening.  
  
While dinner cooked he wrote on several slips of paper a poem he'd found that was perfect for the occasion and taped each of the five pieces in order they were to be read from the door to their apartment back towards their room. He'd laid out the dress he bought her in the Bahamas and placed a single red rose next to it.  
  
Back at the zoo, the group of four walked through enjoying the crisp winter air and the reactions of the kids. When Alex, Kim and Keira went to get something to drink Jimmy told Joey of the surprise Bobby had been planning and talked him into trying to convince Kim to let Keira stay the weekend with them on their way home. At first Keira didn't know what to think of all the animals in the zoo, but soon got used to them and began to coo and giggle on occasion. Joey's favorites that he saw were the big cats, reptiles and penguins and couldn't stop talking about them. After an exciting afternoon the group left to head home and discuss how the afternoon went.  
  
"What was your favorite animal you saw Joey?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"The big cats, definitely." Joey replied excitedly; "What was your favorite?"  
  
"Definitely the birds, especially the peacocks." Alex replied; "What about you Jimmy?"  
  
"I agree with Joey, the big cats were the best." He said laughing; "What about you Kim?"  
  
"I'm gonna have to go with Alex on the peacocks, they were beautiful but the snow leopards were my all time favorite." Kim replied smiling.  
  
A short time later, Joey tugged on his mother's sleeve and whispered softly, "Can Keira stay with us this weekend?"  
  
Her son's request shocked her to say the least and she replied, "If it's ok with your dad then I don't have a problem with it, although I'd have to check with Bobby first."  
  
Joey turned to Jimmy and asked excitedly, "Can Keira stay the weekend with us? Pleeaaasseeee?"  
  
Alex had to bite back laughter at how well Joey was pulling off the acting bit on convincing Kim to let Keira stay with them.  
  
"If your mother and Bobby don't mind then I'd love to have her stay with us." Jimmy replied, glancing over at Alex and then looking at the three of them in the back of the car.  
  
"Can she?" Joey practically begged his mother.  
  
"Lemme call Bobby real quick and see what he says ok?" Kim replied, reaching for her cell phone in her purse.  
  
Joey nodded his head excitedly, waiting not so patiently for his mother to speak to Bobby.  
  
Bobby was putting the finishing touches on dinner when he heard the phone ring, finding Kim on the other end.  
  
"So you finally got your errands done eh?" she asked smiling when he answered the phone.  
  
"Yeah, I figured you would be calling soon." Bobby replied, getting the bottle of 2000 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand and putting it on ice for when they had dinner.  
  
"One of the reasons I called was because Joey wants to know if Keira can stay the weekend with him at Jimmy's." Kim said, looking over at Joey's eager face.  
  
"Really? What does Jimmy say to all this?" Bobby asked, smiling to himself.  
  
"He says he doesn't mind, so if it's ok with you I don't have a problem with it." Kim replied.  
  
"If he knows what he's in for then it's fine with me if she stayed." Bobby said in response; "Do you want me to go ahead and pack a bag for her and give it to you when you get here to take down to him?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll meet you at the door and take it down to them." Kim replied, seeing Joey about ready to burst with excitement.  
  
"How soon will you all be here?" he asked, heading to get the stuff for Keira ready.  
  
"About 8 minutes." Kim replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll have a bag ready for her." Bobby replied, getting enough stuff to last through Monday evening when they'd pick her up after work from Kim's mother.  
  
"See you shortly," Kim said before she hung up the phone.  
  
When Kim hung up Joey asked excitedly, "Well, can she?"  
  
"Yes, she can stay. Bobby's packing a bag for her that should get you all through the weekend as well as enough stuff for my mother till we pick her up after work on Monday." Kim replied, seeing Joey's ecstatic face.  
  
"Are you sure you know what you are getting yourself into Jimmy?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"Yep," Jimmy replied, seeing Alex's smiling face out of the corner of his eye as he looked at his excited son in the backseat through the rear view mirror.  
  
Bobby packed plenty of stuff to get her through the weekend, including the CD's that helped calm her down if she would start to get fussy, and the stuffed bear that they'd gotten her shortly after she was born. He got everything packed just as he heard a knock at the door. Kim stood waiting on the other side when she heard the locks being undone.  
  
"Get everything together?" Kim asked as she took the bag that he handed to her.  
  
"Diapers, wipes, bottles, CD's, her bear, changes of clothing incase their needed, ointment, blankets, tearless shampoo, brush and comb, bibs, changing pads, and pacifier. See anything missing?" he asked, laughing at Kim's amused expression.  
  
"Looks like you got everything, lemme run this down to them and I'll be right back." She replied smiling.  
  
When she took the bag downstairs he left the door unlocked and went to light the candles in the kitchen and turned the lights off. He placed a trail of Hershey kisses from the front door all the way down the hall to the end of their bed where the dress lay. He grabbed a dress shirt and pants from the closet and headed to the bathroom to change before she got back. After he'd changed he put on some quiet music and started getting the plates ready.  
  
When Kim returned and opened the door, she knew something wasn't right. She saw the trail of Hershey kisses on the floor and noticed the first of five slips of paper on the wall. She removed the paper and opened it and read the words written.  
  
You are my inspiration. Having you in my life revived my sleeping  
devotion. You are indeed a special someone.  
  
She followed the trail down the hall till she saw the next piece of paper hung outside their room on the door facing. She removed it from the piece of string that suspended it from the doorframe and read the words written on it as well.  
  
Loving you gives me hope. To free this misery that I coped in those  
times I gave up, you came and I stood up.  
  
She entered the room seeing the dress and rose on the bed and knew something was up. Picking up the dress and rose she headed to the closet to get a pair of sandals and went into the bathroom to change, since that's what she assumed he wanted her to do by laying the dress out for her. When she closed the door Bobby put another piece of paper on a string on the doorframe and another just outside the kitchen. She found another piece of paper on the mirror and removed it and read its contents.  
  
Never will I forget how you always cheer me up every time I'm sad. And  
for that I'm glad.  
  
She figured he'd planned something but didn't know what exactly. She quickly changed and when she opened the door found another piece of paper suspended on the doorframe that just about hit her in the face. She removed the paper, laughing silently and shaking her head as she opened it.  
  
Whenever I'm lonely, you were there for me. Keeping my heart alive  
with your every smile.  
  
As she neared the kitchen she found the last one and removed it and read its contents as she walked.  
  
I dedicate this poem to you. To show how much you mean to me. I love  
you. My special someone.  
  
When she walked into the kitchen, she was amazed to see what he'd done all afternoon.  
  
"Bobby? What's all this for?" she asked rather shocked, watching him pour 2 glasses of wine.  
  
"A romantic way to start the weekend, with no kids." He replied smiling, moving her towards the chair he'd pulled out for her.  
  
She was still awestruck at what he'd been up to all day and asked curiously, "Was the whole trip to the zoo planned in advance?"  
  
"Yep, Jimmy and Alex knew what I was planning and offered to get you out of the apartment for the afternoon so I could get all this done before you got back." Bobby replied, placing the plate in front of her.  
  
"So, what else do you have planned for tonight?" Kim asked smiling, as she took a sip of the wine he'd poured.  
  
"Dinner, a movie so far. It's hard to tell what else I'll think up as things progress." He replied, taking a seat across from her.  
  
She shook her head and laughed and said, "This is absolutely amazing, where did you get this recipe? Please don't say you got it from my mother."  
  
"No I didn't get it from your mother. And a good chef never reveals the source of their information." Bobby said smiling at her reaction.  
  
After eating dinner he decided to go ahead and give her the necklace before they started on the chocolate yogurt crème he'd made. As he removed the two custard cups from the fridge, he headed back to where she sat and said, "I also have something I want to give you."  
  
She took the cup from him looked at the box he pulled out from his pocket and handed to her. She could tell by the size of the box it wasn't a ring, it was too big. She really didn't need another ring anyhow, because she already wore the wedding band and engagement ring he'd bought for her.  
  
"You shouldn't have done all this Bobby, it's too much." Kim said as she slowly opened the box.  
  
The look on her face as she looked at the necklace inside the box was one of shock, surprise and disbelief.  
  
"How did you know?" she asked astounded, looking at the necklace and then to his face.  
  
"I saw it in the paper the morning after you had and ordered it. I'd been looking for something to get for you and I had a feeling this would be perfect." He replied, picking the necklace up from the box and fastening it around her neck.  
  
"I never expected any of this. The only thing I can think of to say is thank you, but I know its not enough." She said, placing her hand on his cheek as he crouched beside her after putting the necklace on her.  
  
"You don't have to say anything Kimmy. I could never repay you enough for the way you've changed my life for the better." He replied, gazing at the necklace resting around her neck, just below the one he'd gotten her when they were dating; "Come on, lets finish dessert and then we'll watch a movie or something."  
  
Over dessert they talked about the kid's reactions to the zoo and discussed a few candid moments that were caught on camera. Afterwards they headed in to look over the movies, when an idea popped into his head.  
  
"How bout we relax a bit before we watch a movie," he suggested, smiling at the idea he had in mind.  
  
"And just how are we supposed to do that?" she asked curiously, slipping her arms around his neck.  
  
"¿Que tal un entibiar agradable el baño de la burbuja para principios?" he whispered into her ear. {How about a nice warm bubble bath for starters?}  
  
"Eso suena muy engatusando." Kim replied softly. {That sounds very enticing.}  
  
"You pick the movie and I'll get everything ready. Deal?" Bobby asked, before heading down the hallway.  
  
"Deal." Kim said in response, looking through the movies that he'd selected that would fit the occasion.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
¿Que tal un entibiar agradable el baño de la burbuja para principios?  
  
How about a nice warm bubble bath for starters?  
  
Eso suena muy engatusando.  
  
That sounds very enticing. 


	67. Hot Like Fire

As the water filled the tub he added enough bubble bath solution to form a lot of foam. He'd even added some rose petals to the water to make it a little more aromatic and relaxing. He'd gotten a CD player and hooked it up away from the water and turned it on so that relaxing music was playing and stuck his head out the door and said, "Water's ready." He went and grabbed the bottle of wine and two glasses and brought it with him, noticing she was still looking through movies.  
  
"You coming? Or did I run the water for myself?" he asked smirking.  
  
"You smart ass," Kim said laughing, getting up and following him in.  
  
She stopped in their room and grabbed a clip for her hair and pulled it up as she walked. As she opened the bathroom door steam escaped the room and she laughed and said, "Is it me or is it hot in here?"  
  
"Shut the door, you're letting all the hot air out." Bobby said laughing pouring her a glass of wine.  
  
"We can't have that now can we?" Kim said smirking as she closed the door and got ready to get in the bubble filled tub.  
  
After she'd gotten settled, he passed her a glass of wine and asked, "So what movie did you decide on?", kinda nervous that she'd picked a chick flick or something.  
  
"Well I came close to picking one that I love but I knew you would hate. So I finally relented and decided on A Beautiful Mind." Kim said smiling; the look on his face obviously showing that in the beginning she'd picked a chick flick.  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief when he found out he wouldn't be watching a chick flick and said, "Very good choice, if I do say so myself."  
  
"I know what you were thinking back there. You thought I picked something like How to loose a guy in 10 days right?" she asked.  
  
"Ok, I admit it I thought you would pick some chick flick. But there is no way you could loose me in ten days." Bobby replied smiling, gently kissing her neck.  
  
"There is no way in hell I could loose you period. Forget ten days." Kim said laughing.  
  
The two spent close to thirty minutes relaxing in the candle lit bathroom, talking and sipping on wine occasionally. When the water began to cool off Bobby suggested, "Shall we go watch that movie you picked out?"  
  
"Sounds good," she replied, wiping off the stray bubbles before slipping into a robe and getting the movie ready.  
  
A couple minutes later he joined her in the living room and took a seat next to her on the couch. Together the two stretched out across the couch and settled in for the next two hours to watch the movie, with no light other than what was coming from the television. Once the movie was over, she sighed contently as Bobby wrapped his arms tighter around her.  
  
"What's next?" Kim asked softly, leaning her head back against his chest.  
  
"What do you want to do?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Wanna go dancing?" she replied.  
  
"Sounds good to me," he said in response, lightly kissing her neck.  
  
The two got dressed and headed out to one of the best nightclubs in the city. Some of the best dance music they'd ever heard was being played that evening. The music pumping through the club seemed to energize everyone in the club and had everyone on their feet, moving to the ever-increasing tempo. After spending about three hours dancing the night away, they returned home.  
  
When Jimmy, Alex, Joey and Keira arrived back at his apartment Alex asked, "You want me to stay for a while and help out?"  
  
"If you want to you can, Joey and I should be ok tonight though." Jimmy replied, putting the diaper bag down.  
  
"I'll go ahead and go, but if you need anything, please call me and I'll see what I can do." Alex replied, passing Keira to Jimmy.  
  
"Don't worry if I need something I'll call, scream or do something to get your attention." Jimmy smirked as he put Keira down in the swing.  
  
Alex rolled her eyes and said, "Leave it to you to come up with the smart aleck comment."  
  
"What you don't approve?" he asked, resting his hands on Alex's hips.  
  
She just shook her head and laughed and said, "What? Now we're going to make out in front of your ex-wife's five-month-old daughter? The poor child will be scarred for life. Not to mention your son is just down the hall so I doubt this would be the worlds best place for anything to happen at."  
  
"Damn, I forgot about the kids already." Jimmy said under his breath.  
  
"What was that Jimmy?" Alex teased; "We just walked in the door and you forgot they were here already?"  
  
"Ms. Taylor I do believe you're pushing your luck," Jimmy smirked, pinching her sides.  
  
"If you're so gung ho about making out with me, then lets get the kids settled in and take this somewhere private." Alex whispered in his ear.  
  
Joey was already in his room playing games and they got Keira situated in her makeshift nursery since she was almost asleep. Alex went and picked up Keira from the swing and took her to put her to bed since she was just about out and Jimmy went to check on Joey.  
  
"You about ready for bed?" Jimmy asked walking into his son's room.  
  
"Just about." He replied pulling the blankets back and climbing into bed.  
  
After he was in bed, Jimmy tucked him in and kissed him on the cheek as he fell asleep and flipped the light off and shut the door to his room. Alex had put Keira in the bassinet Jimmy had picked up just for her stay for the weekend and made sure she was comfortable before closing the door to the room, almost running into Jimmy as he left his sons room.  
  
When they came in from dancing, they both could tell they'd had a bit too much to drink that night, but since they didn't have to worry about driving where they'd taken a cab it didn't really matter. They headed in to change out of their clothes into something a little more comfortable and stretched out for a bit and talked. Somehow the topic of conversation ended up being games they played when they were kids or that they'd seen played.  
  
"I remember playing Twister with Mel when she was younger, it's all she would ever want to play so I eventually got rather good at it." Kim said smiling.  
  
"Don't think I've heard of that one," Bobby replied, placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder.  
  
"Come on, you've got to be kidding me. You've never heard of Twister!" Kim said in disbelief.  
  
"Nope, never heard of it or played it for that matter." Bobby replied with a grin.  
  
"Well, you're in luck then because I bought it for Joey several years ago so if you want I could teach you how to play." Kim said, rolling over to face him.  
  
"I'm game if you are." He replied smiling.  
  
"Then once you get the hang of it we can modify the rules a bit," Kim said grinning evilly as she got up to get the game.  
  
Kim went into Joey's room and got the game out of the closet and headed into the living room. Bobby was already waiting on her and moved the coffee table out of the way so they could put the vinyl mat on the floor and put the spinner on the floor near them. She briefly explained the object of the game and how it was done and once he got the hang of it they started playing about ten minutes later. After thirty minutes Kim decided to make the game a bit more interesting and said, "Let's make things a bit more daring shall we?"  
  
"How do you propose we do that?" Bobby asked as he got up off the floor.  
  
"Whoever hits the floor has to take a piece of clothing off." She said grinning.  
  
Bobby quirked an eyebrow in her direction and said smiling, "You're on."  
  
When the bar was raised with the new penalty for hitting the mat, it seemed as if the game drew on forever. Bobby was the first to hit the floor and took off the sleeveless shirt he had on and put it on the couch as they got ready for the next round. During the second round, Kim hit the floor because her hair fell out of the clip she'd put it in. When she went to move her right hand to the circle that the spinner landed on she managed to loose her balance when her hand slipped and crumpled to the ground, bringing Bobby with her. They both lay as they had fallen laughing until they finally untangled themselves. She decided to remove the spaghetti strapped top she had on and put it on the couch as well. Round after round they went till one person had one piece of clothing left to take off. As they picked themselves up off the floor for the last time, they both were laughing. When they untangled from the pretzel they'd made during the game and got up from the floor, Bobby saw the wicked look on Kim's face.  
  
"What?" he questioned as grin spread across his face.  
  
"I'm waiting." Kim said smiling, taking a seat on the edge of the couch; "You know the rules."  
  
"You want to do the honors or shall I?" Bobby replied, crouching down in front of her on the couch.  
  
She laughed at his question and said, "Let's flip for it shall we?"  
  
Bobby walked over and got a quarter out of the bowl sitting on the table where his wallet was lying and walked back over to where she sat. As he tossed the quarter into the air he said, "Call it."  
  
"Tails," she replied, as the quarter landed in his hand.  
  
He opened his hand to see what the toss had decided and began to smile, looking over at Kim sitting on the couch.  
  
"What's it say?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Tails it is." He replied, pulling her off the couch.  
  
At first she placed one hand on his cheek and gently began to kiss him while her other hand toyed with the elastic band on his boxers. Bobby cupped her face with his hands and kissed her deeply in return as she ran her hand up the side of his stomach and back down. As her hands rested on the waistband of the boxers she gradually began to inch them off him. His hands glided over the back of her ivory stretch lace bra as he brought his hand up to support her neck for an ever deeper kiss. He bit back a moan when he felt her nails moving down the outer part of his thighs as the boxers fell to the floor. Kim placed a gentle kiss on his lips and then gently tugged on his earlobe with her teeth and whispered, "Anything else you wanna do tonight?" 


	68. Underneath it All

"Ever play Melting Point?" he asked softly, resting his hands on the small of her back.  
  
"Nope, I don't believe I have." She replied grinning, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
  
"Let's get this place straightened up and I'll teach you how since you beat me at Twister." He said smiling, knowing he had the upper hand in this game.  
  
She agreed and bent down and folded up the mat and put the spinner back in the box. Gathering the pile of clothes on the couch she headed back towards Joey's room to put the game up and then returned to their room to wait on him so she could learn more about this game. She stretched out across the bed on her side facing the door waiting on him to return. Minutes later he came back carrying a couple ice cubes in a small bowl and said, "This game is played two ways. The easy way is restrained, the harder way is with out being restrained."  
  
"And which one are we trying?" she asked.  
  
"The harder one." He replied smiling.  
  
"So, how do we play?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"What you do is lie down and try and not touch the person with the ice until it's melted away." He replied.  
  
Kim had a feeling he'd picked this particular game because of her inability to tolerate cold temperatures.  
  
"Sound's easy enough," she replied, knowing it was going to take everything she had not to push him away with the ice.  
  
"Lay down and I'll show you how it's done." He said, passing her a blindfold so she couldn't see what he would be doing.  
  
After fixing the blindfold, she lay down grasping handfuls of the blanket she was laying on with a death grip. He had to laugh and asked, "You ready?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, dreading the feeling of having cold ice put on her.  
  
He placed the cube on her stomach and heard her gasp. She fought not to move as he moved the ice cube around, figures he'd get the large cubes instead of the small ones the automatic icemaker made. He could tell she was fighting the urge to move and laughed silently to himself. He moved the ice up to her neck, it was about halfway melted and was surprised she'd lasted this long but wondered if she could last till it was gone. She thought of everything she could to try and keep her mind off the cold ice, but she was slowly starting to loose the battle. He ran the cube down one of her legs and heard her squeal when he ran it over her feet. That was the breaking point for her and she took her left foot and pushed his hand away and said laughing, "I can't take it anymore!"  
  
"You lasted longer than I thought you would." He replied grinning, taking the blindfold off her eyes.  
  
"Let's see how long you can last." Kim said wickedly.  
  
Bobby put the blindfold on and lay down while she went and got some ice. She returned a couple minutes later and said, "You ready?"  
  
"Bring it on," he replied figuring this would be a piece of cake.  
  
She started off by tracing the ice cube along his shoulders and down his chest, feeling him shudder briefly. A playful grin spread across her face as she moved the cube down his torso towards his legs. He was beginning to wonder if he'd mistaken about this game being so easy. She ran the cube along the underside of his knee and down the back of his calf muscle, applying gentle pressure as she moved the cube along. He felt her tracing the ice cube along the sole of his foot, and began to press harder as she moved it across the arch of his foot. He was almost at the brink of pushing her away, unable to withstand the ice. When she began tracing the ever- shrinking ice cube around the perimeter of his navel he couldn't stand it any longer and took his left hand and grabbed her hand.  
  
"Lost at your own game eh?" she asked.  
  
"This is the first time anyone's ever gotten me at this game." He replied, slipping the blindfold off his head.  
  
"I must be special then," she said giggling, stretching out along side him.  
  
He laughed and replied, "Of course you are.", rolling her over onto her back and gently began to press fiery kisses down her neck and collarbone.  
  
She raked her fingers through his hair as he continued pressing soft kisses onto her skin. He playfully nipped on her lower lip and rolled over onto his back. An alluring look crossed Kim's face as she gently began to lightly lick and kiss spots on his inner wrists and elbows before moving to do the same to his neck and chest and sides of his abdomen, adding an occasional nip here and there. After the barrage of sensations had subsided, he rolled her back over and she began to press and rub her hands into the back of his neck, eventually running her hands over his chest and shoulders in a tempting manner. Her soft whimpers eventually became broken gasps, as they seemed to dangle on the edge of exhilaration when she lightly licked his lips then kissed him heatedly, pushing him into sensory overload. As the night went on they made love countless times, not worrying about being disturbed by one of the kids. The next day they lay in bed and relaxed in each other's company since they didn't have to be anywhere.  
  
"Thank you for an amazing weekend," Kim said softly, as she lay on her stomach and traced her fingers across his chest as he lay next to her.  
  
He smiled and replied, "I take it you enjoyed the surprise then?"  
  
"Very much. It's nice to relax and not have to worry about anything for once." She said with a sigh, lightly caressing the sensitive webbing between his thumb and forefinger with her fingers.  
  
"I wonder how Jimmy handled having a five month old to take care of?" Bobby asked curiously.  
  
"I'm sure he survived, because if not he would have called by now for us to come get her if things were too out of hand. Plus its not like he hasn't taken care of a kid before, it's just been a while." Kim replied laughing.  
  
"Good point." Bobby said in response; "Later on you think we should call over and make sure everything's going ok?"  
  
"We can just to make sure there isn't anything he needs for her." Kim replied, looking out the window at the snow falling.  
  
"She should be ready to start teething soon right?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yep. God if she starts that at his place he will go crazy. Joey was an awful teether and just about drove Jimmy to the brink of madness." Kim responded, remembering what it was like when Joey had gone through that stage.  
  
"You think she'll be as bad as he was?" he asked curiously.  
  
"I doubt it. But I learned a few tricks with Joey so it shouldn't be too bad. Then again it depends on how bad a teether you were when you were her age." Kim replied grinning.  
  
"Hey now!" Bobby said laughing, pinching her waist at the comment.  
  
"It's the truth, Jimmy was awful, which probably explains why Joey was the same way." She replied.  
  
"I remember seeing both of you looking like zombies at the station because of it too." Bobby said, recalling the memory.  
  
"Man I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow after the surprise you bestowed upon me this weekend." She replied with a sigh.  
  
Bobby smiled and said, "Want to go back to sleep for a while?"  
  
"Sure," she replied pulling the blankets up around them; "It must be cold outside because I'm freezing."  
  
He laughed and slipped his arms around her while she leaned her head back against his chest as they got ready to head back to sleep with the blankets up around their necks. They awoke again around 1:30 in the afternoon and Kim looked out the window to their room and watched as the snow fell past the window. She sighed and tightened the portion of the blanket closest to her around her and felt Bobby's head resting on her shoulder with one hand resting on her stomach. She placed her hand on top of his and watched as the flurries floated past the window. She lay contently in his warm embrace and lay watching the snow fall, wondering if the roads were covered or not. She stared into space daydreaming until she felt Bobby's hand caress her abdomen. His voice pulled her from her thoughts and she heard him ask, "Did you know it's snowing?"  
  
"Yeah, I noticed it when I woke up." She replied.  
  
"Later want to go for a walk through it?" he suggested.  
  
"That would be wonderful," she said in return, feeling him place gentle kisses on her shoulder and neck.  
  
The two lay and watched the snow fall for about ten minutes before they got up and got ready. Before they left, they called to check on the kids to make sure everything was going ok with Keira. Alex heard the phone ringing and was in the process of warming a bottle to take to Jimmy.  
  
"Hello?" she said into the phone as she waited for the bottle to warm.  
  
"Hey Alex, how are things going?" Kim asked.  
  
"Pretty good. In the process of warming a bottle to take to Jimmy." She replied.  
  
"She hasn't given you all any trouble has she?" Kim asked curiously.  
  
"Nope, she's been a little angel the whole time." Alex responded testing the temperature of the bottle.  
  
"Good. I was worried because she should start teething soon and if she started that while with you all I know Jimmy would go ballistic." Kim said, relieved to hear they hadn't had any problems so far.  
  
Alex laughed and talked to Kim as she carried the bottle in to where Jimmy and Keira were.  
  
"Who is it?" Jimmy asked Alex softly.  
  
Alex mouthed the word Kim and heard him say, "Lemme talk to her for a bit."  
  
"Hold on and I'll let you talk to Jimmy," Alex said as she sat the phone down on the bed and picked up Keira from him. He picked up the phone and began talking.  
  
"How are things going with Keira?" Kim asked.  
  
"Pretty smooth. She was a little fussy last night but settled down. A far cry different than what we went through with Joey." He replied.  
  
Kim had to laugh at his comment and said, "I'll warn you now, she will be teething soon so if she'd start call us and we'll come get her."  
  
Jimmy groaned when he heard the word teething and immediately thought back to when Joey had been her age. The last thing he wanted to do was go through that again. Joey had been killer when he went through that stage and just about cost him his sanity in the process.  
  
"Trust me, if she starts we'll call. How I kept my sanity with Joey I'll never know." He replied.  
  
"Gotta run. I'll see you all later." Kim said noticing Bobby was ready to go.  
  
"Ok, enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you Monday." Jimmy replied, seeing Alex finishing up giving Keira the bottle.  
  
After she'd hung up with Jimmy, Kim grabbed her lined leather gloves and scarf and headed for the living room.  
  
"She give them any trouble?" Bobby asked as they got their coats off the rack.  
  
"She was a little fussy last night but they got her calmed down and she's given them no trouble." Kim replied, zipping up her jacket.  
  
The two of them went out for lunch and then proceeded to take a walk through Central Park. The snow fell quietly around them as they walked. The stopped on a stone bridge in the park and admired the snow covered scenery around them. Snow clung to the branches of the trees about an inch in depth resting on the top portion of them.  
  
"Isn't it gorgeous out here during the winter?" Kim asked as the wind blew a bit, causing her cheeks to turn slightly red.  
  
"It is now that you mention it," he replied smiling, slipping an arm around her waist.  
  
She rested a gloved hand on the side of his neck and the other on his shoulder blade, as he leaned in and gently kissed her. His tongue traced the outline of her lower lip causing her to shudder as he began to knead his free hand along the curve of her waist. When they pulled back, they turned and headed back towards the car after a relaxing winter stroll through the park.  
  
"When we get home I'll fix some hot chocolate so we can warm up." Bobby said as they drove towards their complex.  
  
"Perfect," Kim replied as she took the gloves off and put them in the pocket of her coat; "Why don't you pick a movie for us to watch since I picked one last night."  
  
"I'll do that after I fix the hot chocolate," he replied as they headed home.  
  
As they drove for some reason Kim had a craving for a Kahlua Hummer, she hadn't had one of those in forever and decided to fix one that evening for the both of them.  
  
"Could you stop at the store a few blocks away, I'm gonna fix a nice drink for us later tonight and I've gotta pick the stuff up for it." She asked.  
  
"Sure, what kind of drink you going to fix tonight?" he replied curiously.  
  
"You'll find out tonight when you try it," She responded as he pulled up in front of the store.  
  
She went in and picked up a case of Kahlua and Bailey's and Ice and a carton of vanilla ice cream and paid for the three items and headed back out to the car. When she returned he saw what she was carrying and was intrigued with the combination of drinks.  
  
"Where'd you learn about that combo?" he asked.  
  
"I had one of these a long time ago and for some reason just had a craving for one so I thought I'd fix one. After Jimmy and I separated I used to drink them all the time." She replied. 


	69. Falling Apart

A short time later they arrived home and she put the ice cream in the freezer and the two cases in the fridge to keep cold. While the water for the hot chocolate was put on to boil, Bobby went through the movies they had and decided on the James Bond flick, Die Another Day. As the kettle began whistling he took out two mugs from the cabinets and put the hot chocolate mix in and added the hot water. As he carried the steaming mugs into the living room, Kim had just returned from changing into a spaghetti strapped top and a pair of sweatpants. He passed her a mug and put his on the coffee table and went to change. She put the movie in and got everything set up and took a sip of the hot chocolate. Bobby returned wearing pair of sweatpants and carried a blanket with him. He wrapped the blanket around himself and sat down on the floor and motioned for Kim to sit in front of him and wrapped his arms around her, covering her with the remaining portion of the blanket. For the next two hours they relaxed and watched the movie as they drank hot chocolate.  
  
Back at Jimmy's apartment, things began to fall apart. Keira had begun to cry and no matter what they did, nothing seemed to calm her down.  
  
"Come on Alex, let me call them and see what they want us to do." Jimmy begged, not sure how much more crying he could stand.  
  
"You call and I'm leaving." Alex threatened; "Let them have the rest of the evening in peace."  
  
"And let us suffer through crying?" Jimmy said getting irritated.  
  
"Did you ever think that she might be teething now? You know Kim did warn you it would be happening soon." Alex asked.  
  
Jimmy groaned at Alex's response and figured that was what was wrong with her. They'd tried bottles, pacifiers, CD's, singing, the whole nine yards and nothing had worked up to that point.  
  
"What do you give a teething baby to calm them down?" Alex asked Jimmy, since he'd been through this once.  
  
"Get a washcloth and wrap an ice cube in it, that should calm her down if she is teething." Jimmy replied, after trying to think back to what had worked with Joey.  
  
Alex had Joey get the washcloth and bring it in the kitchen while she got an ice cube from the freezer.  
  
Jimmy sat on the couch and gently ran the wash cloth covered ice cube over her gums. About two minutes later she'd settled down after the coldness from the ice began to soothe the pain caused from the inflammation of her gums.  
  
"She's definitely teething," Jimmy groaned, happy to at least have peace from the crying.  
  
"I thought babies began teething at six months." Alex said.  
  
"They do, but the signs of teething start at five months, the first teeth will appear next month." Jimmy replied; "For us to have any peace I think we're going to have to do this till she falls asleep, then once she wakes up if she won't stop crying repeat it."  
  
The three of them took turns gently rubbing the ice over her gums until she went to sleep.  
  
After the movie had finished Kim had taken the empty mugs into the kitchen and got the stuff out to fix the Kahlua Hummer drinks for the both of them. She got the blender out and a measuring cup. After measuring 1.5 oz of Kahlua and Bailey's and Ice she poured the liquid on top of the one scoop of vanilla ice cream. She mixed the contents together on low speed till it was smooth and poured the first batch into a wine goblet and began another one. After she'd fixed two of them she carried the goblets into the living room and passed one to Bobby.  
  
"Tell me what you think." She said as she took a sip of the drink.  
  
He tried a sip of the mixture and replied, "Wow, this is some good stuff."  
  
"Just don't drink it too fast, you'll get brain freeze." She warned, sipping slowly on her drink.  
  
"Ok, I'll warn you now I might want another one of these before the night is over." He said taking another brief drink.  
  
"We've got plenty of stuff to make more." She replied smiling.  
  
Meanwhile back at Jimmy's, Keira woke up in the middle of the night crying and he got up and proceeded to repeat the wash cloth and ice trick till she settled down since Alex was asleep. He secretly got his cell phone out and left Kim a voice mail to let her know what was going on before he went back to bed. Now he hoped she checked her voice mail periodically to check for new messages. It would be his luck she wouldn't check it till later in the morning, which defeated the purpose of leaving it in the first place.  
  
When he heard her voice mail greeting he got ready to leave a message for her once it was finished.  
  
Kim's cell phone was on silent so she never heard the beep that normally goes off when a new message is waiting. She and Bobby went to sleep around 2:30 that morning after each having 2 Kahlua Hummers. The next morning they got up around noon and Kim reached for her phone and saw she had a message waiting on her. She entered the security code to access the message that was waiting.  
  
"1 new message. Monday, 3:30 AM." The automated voice began to say.  
  
She then heard the message Jimmy had left for her the night before.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, its Jimmy. I thought I'd let you know Keira starting to show signs of teething. We've been using the ice trick to calm her down. I know you said to call of she started and you'd come get her but Alex insisted that we not bother you two for the rest of the evening. See you at work tomorrow."  
  
As she listened to the message Bobby came in and saw her on her phone and asked quietly, "Who you talking to?"  
  
"No one, I'm checking voice mail messages on my phone." She replied as the message finished playing.  
  
"I take it you got one?" he asked.  
  
"Yep, from Jimmy." She said in response.  
  
"From Jimmy? Why didn't he just call here?" Bobby asked confused.  
  
"Alex wouldn't let him. Keira's getting ready to start teething and Alex insisted that he leave us alone for the rest of the evening. They've been pulling the ice and wash cloth trick but that only works for so long." She replied.  
  
"Jimmy's worst nightmare come true." Bobby said chuckling.  
  
"You better believe it. A very unhappy five month old crying machine." Kim responded as she reached for the cordless to check on them.  
  
She dialed the number to his apartment and waited on an answer.  
  
"Hello?" he replied juggling the baby and holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.  
  
"Everything ok over there?" Kim asked.  
  
"Thank god you called. I take it you got the voice mail?" he said.  
  
"Yeah, I got it this afternoon. How is she?" Kim questioned.  
  
"Ok for right now. Wash cloth and ice gum massages seems to work really well with her. That's what got us through the night." Jimmy said in response.  
  
"Before we come into work I'll pick up teething rings and some other stuff and take it to moms so she'll have it for when you drop her off." Kim replied.  
  
"I thought you normally checked your messages several times a day." Jimmy asked.  
  
"I do, but there was nothing I could have done last night after having 2 Kahlua Hummers." She replied.  
  
"You two went to Haggerty's?" Jimmy questioned.  
  
"No, I made them myself. We stopped at the store on our way back from Central Park and I picked up the stuff to make it at home." She said in response; "Did you two get any sleep last night with her crying?"  
  
"Yeah, we each took shifts and rotated getting up with the ice whenever she'd start crying." Jimmy replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you in a couple of hours at work." Kim said heading in to see what Bobby was fixing for lunch.  
  
"Gotcha, see you two later." Jimmy replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
After she'd talked to Jimmy she entered the kitchen and saw Bobby fixing soup and sandwiches for lunch.  
  
"Before we go to work we need to stop and pick up teething rings and some stuff for my mom and drop it off so she has it for when they drop Keira off." Kim said taking a seat as he carried the two bowls to the table.  
  
"Ok. We'll leave early so we have time to pick that stuff up." He replied, passing her a plate with a turkey pita bread sandwich.  
  
It was around 1:15 when they finished lunch and they got ready and headed out early and picked up four teething rings and two tubes of baby ora-jel and took it to her moms house. As they drove over Kim called her in advance and told her they were dropping off some stuff for Keira so she knew they were coming over. After dropping the items off they'd stopped at their apartment again and put the two remaining teething rings they'd bought in the fridge so they'd be ready to give to Keira that evening.  
  
When they arrived at the station they changed and got ready to work on the rig. As Kim headed downstairs she saw Alex and Jimmy coming in.  
  
"Hey Kim, how was your weekend?" Alex asked.  
  
"Amazingly relaxing." Kim replied.  
  
"Did he get you that necklace?" Alex questioned, admiring the heart shaped necklace around Kim's neck.  
  
"Yeah. He totally surprised me because I'd seen it in the paper and was going to get one. I didn't say a word to him about it and he must have looked at the paper and read my mind." Kim replied laughing.  
  
Alex laughed along with Kim and replied, "ESP works wonders doesn't it."  
  
"You have no idea. How did things go with Keira over the weekend?" Kim asked.  
  
"Saturday night she was a perfect angel, she didn't give us any problems at all. Then Sunday afternoon she started getting irritable because of the teething inflammation. I thought Jimmy was going to loose it." Alex replied, walking with Kim into the kitchen of the firehouse.  
  
"How did you keep him from calling me, if he reacted the way he did when Joey started teething." Kim asked curiously.  
  
"I threatened to leave and he dropped the subject real fast." Alex replied.  
  
Kim cracked up laughing when Jimmy walked into the room and he asked, "What's so funny Kimmy?"  
  
"Alex certainly has you trained well." She replied snickering, forcing herself not to bust out laughing once more.  
  
Jimmy shot an evil glance at Alex and said, "What all has she been telling you?"  
  
"Enough to know that she's definitely got the upper hand over you." Kim replied, when Bobby came in.  
  
"Come on Kimmy, we got work to do." He said, pulling her up out of the chair.  
  
As they left Jimmy stood behind Alex and said, "What all did you tell her about this weekend?"  
  
Alex looked at Jimmy innocently and replied, "Nothing too bad." 


	70. Word in Private

That afternoon at work things went by agonizingly slow. Kim was anxious to see her children again. She kept constantly checking to see how much time was left before the end of their shift.  
  
"Looking at your watch every couple of minutes is going to make time go by even more slowly." Bobby said, laughing silently to himself.  
  
She shot a surprised look at Bobby and said, "I can't help it. I'm anxious to see how Joey and Keira are."  
  
"I know. I'm anxious to see them too. There for a while it was weird not having them around." He replied.  
  
"I especially wonder how Keira's doing since she's getting ready to start cutting teeth soon." Kim said, thinking about the discomfort she could be in from the inflammation.  
  
"We'll find out soon enough. She's in good hands though. I'm sure your mom's got plenty of tricks to help her through it." Bobby said in response; "How come Jimmy never called last night to tell us she was teething?"  
  
"Alex threatened to leave which would have meant it would have been up to him to calm her down all night long. Needless to say he didn't touch the phone until Alex was asleep when he left the voice mail on my phone." Kim replied.  
  
Bobby cracked up laughing and said, "Do you really think she would have left him that evening?"  
  
"Come on Bobby this is Alex we're talking about. If he would have called she would have left and he would have been pulling an all nighter with Keira. He maybe stupid at times but he's not that stupid." Kim said giggling.  
  
"Point taken." He replied cracking a smile.  
  
Kim rolled her eyes and laughed and said, "I'm going to go call and check on our daughter. Come get me if we get a call.", as she headed towards her bunk.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in response and went into the T.V room and watched as the snow fell past the window. Alex came in a short time later and saw him looking out at the falling snow and began to inquire about how his weekend had gone.  
  
"So, how did your weekend go?" Alex asked taking a seat in one of the recliners.  
  
"Couldn't have went any better." He replied taking a seat on the couch.  
  
"What all did you have planned to surprise her with?" Alex inquired curiously.  
  
"It started out just dinner and a movie, but then it grew into a bubble bath, going dancing and playing games all evening." He replied with a grin.  
  
"Who won the games?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"She won the first one, and we both lost the on the last one." He replied, thinking back to the fun that they'd had that weekend.  
  
Kim had stretched out on her bunk and pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mother's number. Keira had been crying for several minutes because of the pain from teething and Kim's mother was working on getting her settled down when she heard the phone begin to ring.  
  
"Joey can you get the phone for me?" she called, getting one of the teething rings from the fridge.  
  
He ran for the phone and quickly answered finding his mom on the other end.  
  
"Hey sweetie how are you?" she asked, hearing Keira crying in the background.  
  
"Pretty good." He replied, watching his grandmother trying to calm his sister down.  
  
"How's Keira doing?" Kim asked.  
  
"She's still really irritable. We've been trying to give her a bottle but she won't cooperate and is drooling a lot and rubbing at her ears whenever we lay her down." Joey replied; "What's going on with her? She hasn't done anything like this before."  
  
"She's teething and everything you just described to me are the classic textbook symptoms of it. Normally the first tooth is always the worst and later on it shouldn't be as bad." Kim replied.  
  
"So this is normal?" Joey asked.  
  
"Yep, its all normal for a teething baby." She said in response as Bobby came up; "Lemme talk to your grandmother for a bit sweetheart."  
  
Joey passed the phone to his grandmother and sat down on the couch and took over what she'd been doing with Keira, holding the cold teething ring while she began to bite down on it, the coldness soothing her sore mouth.  
  
"How's everything going?" Kim asked her mother.  
  
"Other than trying to make Keira as comfortable as we can where she's teething, not much else has happened." She replied, watching Joey to make sure everything was ok.  
  
"Joey was describing what all she was doing and everything he said was the classic textbook symptoms for teething. Have the teething rings we brought over helped any?" Kim asked.  
  
"Joey's giving her one now and it's starting to calm her down." Her mother replied.  
  
"Good. I'll see you all when our shift is up." Kim said.  
  
"Ok. You two be careful and I'll see you tonight when you get off." Her mother replied before hanging up the phone.  
  
As Kim put her cell phone up, Bobby sat down beside her on the bunk and asked, "How's she doing?"  
  
"Being the typical teething baby." Kim replied, realizing he was in for an interesting evening tonight.  
  
"And what does a typical teething baby do?" he asked.  
  
"Be really irritable, won't eat, drools a lot and rubs at the ears. Eventually they start biting to try and relieve some of the pain. She hasn't gotten to the biting part yet though." She said in response.  
  
"It looks like you and I are in for one heck of an evening then." He replied.  
  
"Oh of course we are. Chances are we may not be getting a whole lot of sleep either." Kim said in response.  
  
That evening when the shift was over, they changed out of their uniforms after having finished inventory and got ready to leave. Alex and Jimmy were heading out of the station when they came down from changing, and they each grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving the station. When they got outside the car was covered with snow so Bobby began the process of cleaning off the windshield and back window of the Explorer while Kim started the engine and got the heat going. The roads were snow covered and just to be on the safe side they took their time heading to her mothers to pick up the kids. They didn't know if there was a layer of ice beneath the snow or not and didn't want to find out the hard way by driving too fast. They pulled up in front of her mothers home around 11:40 and headed towards the front door. They could hear Keira crying as they approached the door and Kim noticed a worried look cross Bobby's face as Joey opened the door and let them in.  
  
Joey gave his mother and Bobby a hug and asked quietly," How much longer is this going to last?", referring to Keira being in the teething stage.  
  
"It's going to be a while sweetheart," Kim replied, following the source of the crying, stopping in the bathroom to wash her hands.  
  
As she entered the room her mother was in she asked, "How's she doing?"  
  
"She just woke up again crying. We managed to get her to take a some of a bottle but until the inflammation settles down she's probably going to be a finicky eater for a while." Her mother replied as Kim picked her up.  
  
She quietly began to talk to her trying to get her to settle down as she gently rubbed her crying daughter's gums with the pads of her fingers. Bobby was talking to Joey in the living room when they heard the crying start to die down and eventually stop several minutes later. After she'd settled down she headed out to where Bobby and Joey were and said, "We'd better head out while I've got her calmed down. Since we're probably going to be up most of the night with her crying, do you want to stay the night here Joey?"  
  
"Would you mind?" Joey asked softly.  
  
"It's ok. As long as your grandmother doesn't mind that is." Kim replied, glancing up at her mother.  
  
"It's fine if he stays till she settles down a bit." Her mother said in response.  
  
"You behave for your grandmother and we'll see you tomorrow afternoon when we drop her off before work." Kim said as Bobby grabbed the diaper bag.  
  
Kim zipped up Keira's jacket and put a blanket over her before they headed outside to keep the cold chill off her till they got to the car. While Kim fastened her into the car seat, Bobby started the engine and got the heat going to warm up the inside of the Explorer while he cleared the windshield and back window of snow. They managed to make it home before she began to cry again. Kim went and got one of the cold teething rings from the fridge and sat down on the couch with her and let her chew on it. Bobby went in for a quick shower and Kim thought through the plan that would hopefully get them through the night. When he came out he watched Keira while she went in and took a quick shower as well. After she'd finished she came back out and said, "I think I've got a plan to get us through tonight."  
  
"What have you come up with?" he asked, looking down at Keira still chewing the teething ring like there was no tomorrow.  
  
"I'll try and see if I can get her to eat a bit more before she goes to bed and if she starts to fuss we can use a little of the ora-jel on her and get a little bit of sleep. Then alternate who gets up with her through out the night so we can get as much sleep as we can since we both have to work." She suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me," He replied, noticing it looked like Keira was about ready to start crying again.  
  
Kim went and got the second teething ring from the fridge and handed it to him to give to her and took the first one and rinsed it off and put it in the fridge to get cold once more. She decided to try nursing Keira to see if she'd cooperate better than trying to give her a bottle since she was being finicky earlier. When Joey went through this it helped so she figured she try it with her as well and see if it worked for her as well. They'd been bottle feeding her after the cyanide incident because they didn't know if it could be passed through milk so they decided to wait a bit just to be on the safe side. She'd try giving her a bottle first though to see if she'd take it but if she wouldn't, then would try to nurse her. She warmed a bottle up for her and went back into the living room and took a seat on the couch next to Bobby. He took the bottle and tried to see if he could get her to take it but each time she turned her head away and wouldn't cooperate.  
  
He sighed and put the bottle on the coffee table and said, "She's got to eat something. From the way your mom talked they didn't have much luck with this either."  
  
"Let me see what I can do." Kim replied, hoping Keira cooperated with her.  
  
Bobby passed Keira over to her and figured she was going to try to see if she could get her to nurse. He hoped it worked because there was no way they could force her to take a bottle if she didn't want to. He got up and went to put the bottle in the fridge since they hadn't used any of it. Much to his relief came back out and saw that Keira had cooperated and was nursing.  
  
"There's one obstacle out of the way," he said with a sigh, sitting back down on the couch.  
  
"Yep, I'm just relieved she cooperated. I was worried she wouldn't and then we'd be in a bit of a crisis." Kim replied, leaning back against the couch.  
  
"You got that right." Bobby said back to her.  
  
After she'd finished nursing, they put some of the baby ora-jel on her gums since she'd started to fuss again. Once it had taken effect she quickly fell asleep after having just eaten and they put her down for the night, wondering how long she'd sleep. They put the second teething ring in the fridge since it would be a while hopefully till she needed it again.  
  
"How long do you think she'll sleep?" Bobby asked as they left the nursery.  
  
"It's hard to say. It depends on how long the gel lasts." She replied, noticing it was after 1 in the morning.  
  
"We'd better get to bed and get some sleep before we start rotating who gets up with her." He suggested; "By the way which of us is taking the first shift with her?"  
  
"I'll take the first one." She replied, curling up in bed and burrowing into the covers.  
  
They got about 4 hours of sleep before Keira began to cry again. Kim got up and got one of the teething rings and headed into the nursery and picked her up. She gently rocked her while she chewed on the cold teething ring. She hoped to avoid using the ora-jel too much because you're only supposed to use it four times a day, and they would probably need it later on. So she decided to go with the teething ring, ice and finger massage trick, hoping it would get her back to sleep. She talked quietly to her while she gnawed on the teething ring. Once the coldness had worn off, Keira had started to fuss and Kim started to gently massage her gums with her fingers. After about an hour and a half Keira finally fell asleep again and she gently placed her back in the crib and went back to bed. Three hours later it was Bobby's turn to get up. He must have been sound asleep because he didn't move for a bit. Kim began to wake him up since it was his turn to get up with her.  
  
"Bobby," she said sleepily; "Get up, it's your turn with Keira."  
  
He felt her grab hold of his shoulder and shake till he'd woken up.  
  
"I do believe it's your turn with Keira." She said once more, making sure he got up before going back to sleep.  
  
He mumbled something incoherent as he made his way across the hall to his crying daughter.  
  
"Sssh, está bien a novio. No llore." He said softly as he picked her up out of the crib. {Sssh, it's ok sweetheart. Don't cry.}  
  
He carried her in and got a wash cloth and an ice cube from the freezer and wrapped it up and took it back to the nursery and gently ran it over her gums. When she began to settle down he moved the chair closer to the window and let her look out at the snow that was still falling illuminated by the streetlights from outside.  
  
"¿La nieve no es Keira bonita?" he asked, watching her look around outside at the snow covered ground below and squeal softly. {Isn't the snow pretty Keira?}  
  
When she started fussing again he got another piece of ice and repeated the massage trick till she settled down and fell asleep an hour later. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and said softly, "Buenas noches novio. Duerma bien. La mami y el Papá lo verán en la mañana." {Goodnight sweetheart. Sleep well. Mommy and Daddy will see you in the morning.}  
  
Spanish Translations  
  
~~~  
  
Sssh, está bien a novio. No llore.  
  
Sssh, it's ok sweetheart. Don't cry.  
  
~~~  
  
¿La nieve no es Keira bonita?  
  
Isn't the snow pretty Keira?  
  
~~~  
  
Buenas noches novio. Duerma bien. La mami y el Papá lo verán en la mañana.  
  
Goodnight sweetheart. Sleep well. Mommy and Daddy will see you in the morning. 


	71. Unreal Reality

Several weeks later Kim and Bobby were talking about how fast their little girl was growing up and how well Joey had adapted to having a younger sibling when a call came through for them to respond to. The call was a few blocks away from where they were so Kim radioed back they were taking it and headed towards the location. When they arrive, an apartment complex was on fire and most of the occupants in the building had gotten out. A little four year old boy and his mother had just dashed from the building when all of a sudden the boy stopped, wrenching his wrist from his mothers hold and ran back inside the building, despite the protests from everyone around.  
  
Kim had heard the shouts from the crowd to the boy not to go as she'd gotten out of the bus and saw the boy run back in. Since the fire was on the seventh floor, she ran in to get the boy and bring him back out before Bobby had a chance to tell her not to go. Bobby had heard the shouts too and when he moved to the back of the rig saw Kim run inside the building. He didn't even have time to yell for her to come back she'd taken off so fast after the child.  
  
She found the boy in one of the back apartments on the fourth floor and scooped him up into her arms. It was obvious the child was scared and her motherly instincts kicked in and tried to calm the boy down, reassuring him that everything would be ok. As she turned to leave the room, the ground around her shook and a shock wave knocked her back into the room she had been leaving. Her body hit the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of her for a bit; she'd landed on her back on the ground, the little boy rolling out of her arms onto the floor beside her. The boy appeared fine once she checked him over and looked towards the entrance to the building through one of the windows. She saw the front entrance blocked by burning wood, furniture and debris and Bobby trying to find a way in to get to her. She busted out a window and tried to yell and get his attention but her voice didn't carry far enough for him to hear her. She turned to the young boy and began to talk to him.  
  
"What's your name?" she asked, not receiving an answer from the young child.  
  
After not getting an answer she decided to try and see if the little boy knew Spanish and repeated the question.  
  
"¿Qué es su nombre?" she asked once more. {What's your name?}  
  
This time she got a response from the boy.  
  
"Mi nombre es Tomas." the child replied. {My name is Tomas.}  
  
"¿Es lastimado usted dondequiera Tomas?" she asked. {Are you hurt anywhere Tomas?}  
  
The little boy shook his head no and Kim said, "Permanezca aquí. Veré si puedo encontrar otro salida de aquí. ¿Bueno?" {Stay here. I'm going to see if I can find another way out of here. Ok?}  
  
Tomas nodded his head in understanding and she headed back to where the staircase was that she'd just come up to see if she could get out that way. The staircase had collapsed into a burning heap on the first floor which left her trapped. The searing heat was unbearable and she'd started to wheeze from the smoke and turned to head back into the room she'd come out of. She went back to the window and tried to get Bobby's attention again but because of the smoke she couldn't yell near as loud as what she had the first time and was forced to find another way to get his attention. She found a small glass mirror and dropped it out the window, watching it shatter on the concrete below. Bobby heard the sound of glass shattering on impact on the concrete and turned around and saw the glass on the ground and looked up, seeing Kim in the window coughing with black soot streaked across her face.  
  
He was relieved to see she was ok and not hurt and started trying to find a way in to get her. When he looked up at her again he saw a figure come from no where and clamp a rag over Kim's nose and mouth and pull her away from the window. He watched helplessly as she fought against whomever had her until her body went limp from the contents of the rag. He couldn't process through what he'd just saw, but felt his legs give way and sank to the ground to his knees. When Jimmy arrived he assessed the situation with the building and caught sight of Bobby on the ground, wondering what was going on.  
  
Bobby forced himself up off the ground and urgently searched for another way into the building. He didn't see another entrance so he was forced to climb the fire escape up to the fourth floor. Alex ran around to the side of the building and saw Bobby getting ready to go into one of the apartments through a window.  
  
"Bobby stop! You can't go in there!" Alex yelled.  
  
Bobby turned and looked at her and then went in despite her warning his primary focus was on saving Kim at this point. Jimmy had heard Alex yell and turned the corner seeing her watching Bobby go in and hurried over to where she was standing. Regardless of the warnings they both shouted he proceeded into the building to find her and get her out of there.  
  
"One of us has to go with him," Alex said urgently, scanning the apartments for any sign of him.  
  
"You go, I've got to give orders to the guys on the ground." Jimmy said as he looked up the fire escape.  
  
He gave her a boost up and said, "If anything happens and you need help let me know and I'll get to where you are as fast as I can."  
  
Alex nodded her head in response and rushed up the fire escape and entered the same way Bobby had. Jimmy watched her disappear into the building and rushed back around to the front to help the guys with the entrance. As soon as Alex got into the hallway she smelled smoke and put her oxygen mask on.  
  
Bobby found the boy in one of the apartments and knelt down next to him.  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked, not getting a response other than a look of not being understood.  
  
He then switched over to Spanish, with the hopes of the boy understanding him.  
  
"¿Usted está bien?" he asked once more. {Are you ok?}  
  
The little boy shook his head yes, signifying he was ok when Bobby asked trying to remain calm as he spoke, "¿Dónde es quién entró la mujer aquí después de usted?" {Where is the woman who came in here after you?}  
  
"Yo no sé." Tomas replied, seeing the look of hurt cross Bobby's face. {I don't know.}  
  
She started to scream for Bobby, hoping he'd hear her and answer in return so she could find him quicker. He heard her calling his name but didn't respond his focus was on the young child in front of him and trying to find Kim. She looked down the corridor and headed towards the back, hearing a faint noise as she moved. She looked into one of the apartments at the end of the hall and found Bobby kneeling next to the little boy who had ran back into the building, only thing was the boy was huddled under Kim's paramedic jacket but she was no where to be found.  
  
"Bobby come on! We've got to get out of here!" Alex said, kneeling next to him and the boy.  
  
"I can't. Not till I find Kim." Bobby replied as he picked the boy up and put him into Alex's arms and dashed from the room to search the rest of the floor.  
  
Alex cursed under her breath and told Jimmy she needed medic's standing by at the fire escape. Jimmy, Doc and Carlos rushed to the bottom of the fire escape and waited on her as she emerged from the building and scrambled down the fire escape and passed the boy off to them still in Kim's jacket. Doc handed the jacket to Jimmy as they took the boy over to their bus to work on him and check him over. As he held Kim's jacket in his hands he looked up at Alex who was going back inside the building.  
  
"Alex! Where are you going!" Jimmy yelled to her.  
  
"To help Bobby find Kim!" she yelled back as she disappeared into the building for the second time.  
  
When she entered the building again the smoke had thickened immensely in the hallway of the fourth floor. She found Bobby checking the apartments for Kim, not giving up hope that she was still somewhere inside here. Alex looked around her and realized things weren't looking very good.  
  
"Bobby! Come on! It's a matter of time before the ceiling is going to go!" Alex yelled at him.  
  
He ignored her and moved on until he felt her grab his arm and spin him around to face her. He began to cough violently from the smoke he'd inhaled and Alex said, "That's it! I'm getting you out of here!"  
  
When she began to drag him back towards the fire escape he said weakly, "No! Alex I can't! I've got to find her."  
  
"Bobby you've inhaled too much smoke already. I'm getting you out of here before anything happens to you!" Alex replied, clamping down on his wrist and began heading down the fire escape towards Jimmy.  
  
Up on the seventh floor an explosion blew out several windows, raining down shards of glass on them. Bobby hesitated momentarily when he heard the explosion as he stepped out onto the fire escape and heard Alex's voice pull him back to the present.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
~~~  
  
¿Qué es su nombre? ~ What's your name?  
  
Mi nombre es Tomas. ~ My name is Tomas.  
  
¿Es lastimado usted dondequiera Tomas? ~ Are you hurt anywhere Tomas?  
  
Permanezca aquí. Veré si puedo encontrar otro salida de aquí. ¿Bueno? ~ Stay here. I'm going to see if I can find another way out of here. Ok?  
  
¿Usted está bien? ~ Are you ok?  
  
¿Dónde es quién entró la mujer aquí después de usted? ~ Where is the woman who came in here after you?  
  
Yo no sé. ~ I don't know. 


	72. Fallen Angel

"Bobby! Go now!" Alex screamed as the glass rained down on them.  
  
He reluctantly obeyed and headed down the fire escape, Alex following close behind him.  
  
After they'd both gotten down to the ground, Bobby was visually scanning the building while Alex talked to Jimmy.  
  
"Alex, what the hell was he doing?" Jimmy asked quietly as he looked at what he was doing.  
  
"Trying to find Kim." Alex replied softly.  
  
"What!" Jimmy half yelled; "Is she still in there?"  
  
"I guess, we couldn't find her anywhere on the fourth floor since that's where we found her jacket." Alex replied, seeing the look of fear in Jimmy's eyes.  
  
Just then D.K came up to Jimmy and told him the entrance was clear and that the ladder trucks were sending people in. He also told him that the seventh floor was now a raging inferno. Jimmy had D.K to get people together to go in and try and locate Kim on the fourth floor. Alex had gotten Bobby over to his rig and got him on oxygen since he'd taken in so much smoke. A low rumbling sound was heard coming from the building when several floors came crashing down, before any of the firefighters had entered luckily. Everyone pulled back as the dust settled from where several floors had caved in.  
  
Bobby just about lost it when he watched the floors come down; fearing Kim was somewhere inside the building. He was about ready to jump past Alex when she blocked his path and wouldn't let him up.  
  
"Please Alex, I've got to find her." He managed to get out in a pleading voice before starting another coughing spell.  
  
"It's not safe Bobby I can't let you do that. You've got to keep the mask on where you took in so much smoke the first time you were in there." Alex said, hating to do this to him but it was for his own good.  
  
"I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her." He said vanquished, looking over at Alex's sorrowful expression.  
  
"I'm sure she's fine Bobby. We would have found her if she were in there." Alex said trying to get him to think positively.  
  
"Then where is she? She wouldn't run off for no reason, you should know that." Bobby said in a saddened tone.  
  
Alex saw the tears in Bobby's eyes, knowing that he was probably fearing the worst at this point after watching several floors come down.  
  
Not too far away, Kim sat tied up and gagged in the back seat of a car, forced to watch what was being played out before her. She knew that Bobby probably thought she was still inside the building and it killed her to think about how distraught he must be. Tears began to spill down her cheeks at what must be going through his head when the person who had kidnapped her turned around and said, "What the hell are you crying for?"  
  
She tried to talk, but all that came out of her mouth were garbled sounds. Her captor laughed and snapped, "If you think I'm ungagging you forget it!"  
  
Her abductor put a rag over her mouth and nose and let the drugs take effect before pulling away from the fire so she wouldn't know where she was being taken. Craig now had two accomplices helping him, his cousin Marc who was from California and his friend Tony, who really isn't all that bright but thinks being in on stuff like this makes him look macho. Craig got out of the car after the drugs had taken effect and Marc got behind the wheel of the car with Tony sitting in the passenger seat. When they arrived at the old run down building by the river, they waited as Craig told them to till he arrived just to make sure the coast was clear. Darkness had fallen when Craig arrived, spotting Marc's car beside the building and moved to help them get Kim situated inside since the drugs had long since wore off. While she'd been out of it they got a blindfold over her eyes so when she came too she wouldn't know where she was.  
  
She heard the door open and felt someone grab a hold of her and pull her towards the open door and immediately fought back. It took both Craig and Marc to restrain her enough to where they could carry her into the building. Tony shut the doors on the car and followed them into the building, locking the doors behind him and following them into the boarded up building. She felt three pairs of hands firmly press her back against some type of column of sorts and heard duct tape being pulled off a roll to securely restrain her. They started with her ankles wrapping the tape tightly around the column to keep her from being able to break loose. She couldn't kick free while they were restraining her due to the hands holding her legs still. One person had a vice-like grip on her shoulders, keeping her upper body from moving. Once her legs were securely fastened, they forced her bound wrists above her head and wrapped the duct tape over the ropes and around the column like they did with her ankles.  
  
Bobby sat in one of the exam rooms of the ER, waiting for the results of the blood work that were done to see if there were any poisonous byproducts from the smoke in his lungs as well as checking the oxygen saturation. His blood pressure and respiration rates were being monitored while he took in humidified 100% oxygen till the blood work came back. The x-rays of his lungs showed no pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) so all he could do was sit and wait for the lab work to come back and wonder what had happened to Kim. He lay on the gurney and briefly closed his eyes, trying to relax while he took in the oxygen but every time he closed his eyes he saw Kim going limp as someone pulled her away from the window at the fire. He sat up and hung his head sadly, looking at the wedding band on his finger and sighed deeply, fearing the worst for Kim after he'd watched several floors collapse. He heard the door to the room open and saw Alex come in.  
  
"Hey, you feeling any better?" she asked softly as she headed towards where he was.  
  
She saw the look of sadness and despair in his eyes as he looked up at her and weakly replied back to her, "It's easier for me to breathe but I won't feel any better till I know that Kim is ok."  
  
Alex stood next to him and said; "If she was still on the fourth floor we would have found her. She had to have gotten out one way or another."  
  
"But what if she didn't Alex?" Bobby asked, his voice cracking at the thought; "How am I supposed to break that news to her mother and Joey?"  
  
"Don't think like that. She's too strong a person not to have gotten out of there before the floors gave way. She has you, Joey and Keira to live for, she would fight till the end to be there for all of you." Alex said, trying to give him a sliver of hope to hold onto that Kim was fine.  
  
Several hours later the blood work had come back, the doctor reviewed the results before coming in. Alex picked up both his jacket and Kim's and moved it to another chair so she could sit down. When she moved Kim's jacket though she felt something in one of the pockets. She removed a piece of paper and slipped it into her pocket and sat down and tried to ease Bobby's fears about what had happened to Kim, but she knew the only way to do that would be if she was found. Five minutes later the doctor knocked on the door of the room with the results of the lab work. Alex got up and left and stood outside the room and slipped her hand into her pocket, removing the paper that had been folded in the pocket of Kim's jacket.  
  
She unfolded the paper and her breath caught in her throat as her eyes scanned over the type written letter.  
  
How does it feel to be alone, feel like you're going under yet? You  
will. We'll definitely have some fun with her that's for sure. And  
just think, there's nothing you can do to stop us.  
  
Jimmy looked up from the waiting room and saw Alex step out of the room and open a piece of paper. A horrified expression crossed her face as she looked in at Bobby and then back to the letter. Jimmy moved over to where she was standing and said softly, "Alex, what's wrong?"  
  
Alex couldn't speak after reading the contents of the paper and passed it to Jimmy, feeling her legs going weak. He quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her back to the waiting room and sat her down, he took a seat next to her and unfolded the paper she'd put into his hands. As his eyes scanned the contents he couldn't believe what he was reading and had to read it once more to make sure he was seeing what he thought he saw typed. He silently cursed under his breath as he felt rage building at the contents of the letter.  
  
Alex looked at his expression and said softly, "One of us should call her mother or go over and tell her in person."  
  
"Yeah, and one of us still has to tell Bobby." Jimmy replied, looking over at Alex.  
  
"Do you want to break it to her mother since Joey is over there? Although I imagine he'd probably be in bed at this hour." Alex asked.  
  
"That's fine, it might be best if it was me that broke it to her since we don't know if they are going to release Bobby or let him go home." Jimmy replied, standing up to head to his ex-mother in law's home.  
  
Alex sat in the waiting room, dreading having to tell Bobby that Kim had been kidnapped. Granted it was a relief to know she wasn't dead but still, not knowing who had her or if she's ok really isn't all that comforting. Fifteen minutes after Jimmy had left the doctor cleared Bobby to go home, but told him he should take it easy the next couple of days at work and to avoid contact with smoke for a while to make sure his lungs healed properly. Alex looked up when she heard footsteps and saw Bobby headed towards her carrying both his and Kim's paramedic jackets.  
  
As Bobby left the room, he saw Alex sitting in one of the waiting room chairs with her eyes on the floor, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes as she held a piece of white paper in her hand. As he neared where she sat he asked softly, "Alex, what's wrong?"  
  
Dread built up in her stomach when she heard Bobby's voice.  
  
"Let's go outside and I'll tell you." she replied softly as she stood up. 


	73. Helpless

Bobby knew something wasn't right and quietly followed Alex out to the rig. He climbed into the passenger seat while Alex removed a piece of paper and looked at it, looking up when he closed the door.  
  
"There is no easy way to say this to make it any better," Alex said passing him the piece of paper.  
  
Bobby's heart sank at Alex's words and took the paper from her hand and unfolded it shakily and read its contents.  
  
Jimmy made his way towards Kim's mother's home and knew this wasn't going to be easy. She had just gone in to check on Joey and Keira since they both had been asleep for about an hour when she heard a knock at her door. As she opened the door she was surprised to see Jimmy on the other side.  
  
"Jimmy, what are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"We need to talk, may I come in?" he replied.  
  
She nodded her head and stepped back from the door, letting him in and closing the door and taking a seat in one of the chairs in the living room as he sat down on the couch. She noticed something wasn't right about the way he was acting and figured something had happened.  
  
"Are Kim and Bobby ok?" she asked, hoping nothing had happened to them.  
  
"Bobby's fine, just took in a little too much smoke at a fire earlier. He's down at Mercy being checked over. Today during the same fire Kim went after a boy who ran back into the building. During the whole thing someone kidnapped her. We have no idea where she is or if she's hurt." Jimmy replied sadly, seeing the hurt look cross his ex-mother-in-law's face.  
  
She sat in a state of shock, hearing what Jimmy had said, not able to fully grasp everything he'd said. Eventually tears started to fall as she thought of the two sleeping children down the hall.  
  
"Has anyone told Bobby yet?" she asked shakily, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
"Alex is waiting to tell him at Mercy. We don't know if they are going to keep him over night or let him go." Jimmy replied solemnly.  
  
An hour later, he left Kim's mother's home and headed back to the station to change and break the news to the guys at the station. All the guys at the station sat stunned as Jimmy told them what had happened.  
  
"Do we want to start searching for her?" D.K asked.  
  
"We could but we also have to work tomorrow too. We could search for about four hours tonight then start in again in the morning before we come in and do the same thing over and over till we find her." Jimmy replied.  
  
All the guys nodded their heads in response and headed up to change. Alex and Bobby came in a short time later to change since the shift was over. When Bobby headed upstairs Jimmy said to Alex, "How did he take the news?"  
  
"Not too well," she replied; "How's Kim's mom handling it?"  
  
"I think she's still in the shock/denial stage." Jimmy said in return; "A bunch of us are going out to start looking for her, wanna come?"  
  
"Sure. The sooner we find her the better." Alex replied, going to change and check on Bobby.  
  
She quietly climbed the stairs, seeing him sitting on his bunk looking at a picture that had been taken when they were in the Bahamas. He heard footsteps and saw Alex coming up.  
  
"We'll find her Bobby. Don't ever doubt that." Alex said softly, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I know. I just hope it's soon." He replied quietly.  
  
"I have a feeling it will be." Alex replied; "You going straight home?"  
  
"I'm going to stop and check on her mom and the kids first, then I'll go home." Bobby replied, replacing the picture in his locker when he stood up.  
  
"If you hear anything or need something feel free to call me." Alex said as he walked by.  
  
"Ok," he replied quietly, getting Kim's stuff from her locker before heading out of the station.  
  
He drove to her mother's home to see how she was coping with the news Jimmy had broken to her. She heard a knock at the door to her home and got up off the sofa. She'd been crying ever since Jimmy left, and seeing Bobby on the other side made her want to cry even harder. As she let him in, another round of sobs wracked her body as she headed towards the sofa. He did his best to try and console his mother-in-law but eventually, he too had tears slipping down his face. After she'd settled down, he went and checked on the kids. Joey was sound asleep and looked so peaceful and at ease, unaware of what all had happened. He figured this would be one of the hardest things he'd ever had to tell Joey and wasn't looking forward to it. But Joey had a right to know, so he would have to drum up all the courage he could find to tell him that his mother was missing. Next he checked on Keira who also was sound asleep. He gently held his sleeping daughter's hand, feeling fury building. Fury towards whomever was responsible for keeping Kim from him, her children and her friends and family.  
  
A short time later he left and returned to where Kim's mother was. She was still sitting on the couch, still trying to come to terms with what had happened. He sat down next to her and gently asked, "Do you want me to take the kids for the evening?"  
  
"Would it be ok if they stayed here? Having them around helps me deal with everything that's happened." She replied softly, wiping tears from her eyes.  
  
"Sure. I don't mind if they stay. I'd better get going and head home and wait for any news. If I hear anything I'll call you and let you know." He said as he prepared to stand up.  
  
After he left there, he headed home. The light on the answering machine was blinking and he hoped it was some good news. He rewound the tape and listened to what had been recorded. As the message began to play he heard a very chilling voice speak in a savage manner.  
  
I hear you lost something very close to your heart this evening. How  
could you ignore it? We have here with us the one thing near and dear  
to your heart, your precious Kimmy. Never thought this could happen  
right? Just think, there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop us. How  
does it feel? Realizing there isn't anything you can do to help her,  
save her? Immobilized by fear aren't you? You're NEVER gonna win  
Bobby!  
  
As he listened to the heartless message, all he could think about was what could be happening to her at this very minute and the thought of that terrified him, a lot. The smell of smoke still clung to him from the fire earlier so he headed off for a shower, fears and worries about what was happening to Kim his primary thoughts. It was extremely awkward not having Kim around. He knew for sure that it would be difficult to fall asleep because he kept picturing her struggling against whoever had put the rag over her nose and mouth and pulled her from the window and what she could be going through at that very moment. After several hours of staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning he got up. He read the labels on the videotapes in the living room and found the one of their honeymoon and put it in. As the images came across the screen he sat on the couch remembering each of them as if it were yesterday. Eventually he fell asleep on the couch as a mixture of emotions engulfed him and exhaustion took its toll on his system.  
  
Alex, Jimmy, D.K, Walsh and Lombardo all met at the scene of the fire to start looking for Kim. They all set their watches to meet back where they had started in four hours. Each person had their cell phones turned on so they could check in with each other periodically and if they found something they could let the others know. Each person went a different direction, more ground could be covered if they split up so that's what they opted to do. Time went by agonizingly slow as they searched for their missing colleague. Every thirty minutes or so they would check in with one another to see if anyone had found anything. When four hours were up they all headed back to the scene of the fire to regroup and go home and rest before picking back up once it was light out.  
  
The next morning he awoke, finding himself on the couch. He got up and flipped off the T.V and VCR and headed in to eat something before he stopped to check on Kim's mom before he went to work. When she let him in he could tell by her appearance she hadn't slept all night, then again with news of her daughter missing he really didn't expect her to. As they sat and talked, Joey got up and came into the room. He knew something wasn't right and judging by the appearances of his grandmother and Bobby, that confirmed his suspicions.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice, unaware of what had happened.  
  
Bobby motioned for Joey to come sit in between him and his grandmother. Kim's mother tried to find the right words to say to tell her grandson what had happened. Incase she wasn't able to get the words out Bobby did the same trying to think of the easiest way to say it. As Joey sat in between his grandmother and Bobby, he saw the pain and anguish in both their eyes. Before she began to speak, she felt her throat begin to constrict as she forced back the onslaught of tears that were threatening to fall. She'd managed to keep herself together and gently began to try and explain what had happened to his mother.  
  
"Something happened to your mom at work last night sweetheart," she began to say.  
  
"Is she ok?" Joey asked weakly, trying to hold back the tears of fear.  
  
"I don't know honey. Someone took her. We don't know if she's injured or ok, we won't know till they find her." She managed to reply as tears started to flow down her face once more.  
  
She left the room for a bit to regain her composure. While she was gone Joey looked up at Bobby and asked quietly, "Why would someone want to hurt mom?"  
  
"I wish I knew Joey, I wish I knew. Your mom wouldn't hurt anyone. So why someone is doing this to her and us makes no sense to me." Bobby replied trying to comfort the young boy's fears.  
  
"Do you think they'll find her soon?" Joey asked, wiping a few tears away from his eyes.  
  
"I'm sure they will. Before work a bunch of us are going to start looking to see if we can find her." Bobby replied, putting his arm around Joey's shaking shoulders.  
  
"If you find anything out will you let us know?" he asked.  
  
"You all would be the first to know if we find anything out." Bobby replied, seeing a flicker of hope cross Joey's face.  
  
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Joey asked quietly.  
  
"Just make sure your grandmother is ok and help her out. I'd let you come with us but I don't know what these people have planned so it's too dangerous for you to come with us." Bobby replied, feeling bad that there wasn't much more Joey could do; "We'll get her back soon Joey. Soon this will all be over." 


	74. Where are you Now?

Ten minutes later he left Kim's mothers home and went to talk to his mother before he headed into work early so everyone could go out and look for Kim. She had just fixed a pot of coffee when she heard a knock on her door. Much to her surprise she found her son on her doorstep.  
  
"¡Mi hijo, usted parece atroz! Entre y permitanos discurso y usted puede decir mí lo que molesta usted." His mother said after she'd opened the door and took a look at his appearance. {My son, you look awful! Come in and let's talk and you can tell me what's troubling you.}  
  
"Bueno, yo no puedo permanecer mucho tiempo aunque tengo que entrar el trabajo temprano." Bobby replied as he entered his mother's home. {Ok, I can't stay long though I have to go into work early."  
  
He sat down on the couch in his mother's living room, thinking about where Kim could be at this very moment, what the person or persons who took her could be doing to her. She had gone in to get coffee and brought him out a mug and said, "What happened? You look awful."  
  
He began to explain what had happened the night before and she sat there listening to what her son was telling her. She tried to reassure him that Kim would be ok, but knew he wouldn't listen until she was safe and back home. She could tell just by the way he spoke that this event would have profound effect on him, and prayed they found her soon.  
  
"If you want I can watch the kids for a while, I know it's Kim's mother's week to watch them but with her daughter missing and all I'd be happy to watch them again and let her focus on getting her daughter back." She suggested.  
  
"I'll talk to her about that when I see her." Bobby replied after taking a drink of the coffee.  
  
"Have you told Joey yet?" she asked.  
  
He nodded his head yes and said, "Kim's mother and I told him this morning. I stopped by to check on them to see how they were doing before I came over here."  
  
"How is he handling it?" she questioned.  
  
"He's trying to put up a brave front but I know he's scared. We all are. We don't know what this person wants or why they took her in the first place. A bunch of us from the station are going to start looking for her before work." Bobby replied.  
  
"If there is anything you or her mother need, please don't hesitate to call." His mother replied, walking with her son to the door.  
  
"I will." He replied.  
  
"Tenga cuidado mi hijo, y mejor de suerte en encontrar Kim." She said as he left. {Be careful my son, and best of luck at finding Kim.}  
  
"Soy mamá siempre cuidadosa. Véalo pronto." He replied, before heading outside. {I'm always careful mom. See you soon.}  
  
As he drove to the station he missed having Kim with him. Without her it felt as if a part of him was missing. Alex, Jimmy, Lombardo and D.K were sitting around talking quietly when they saw him coming in and casting dismal glances in his direction. As he walked past and headed upstairs to put his stuff up, Alex got up and followed him.  
  
"Are you sure you feel up to working today?" she asked softly.  
  
"I don't know what to do, right now Alex. Other than trying to find her. I've got to do something, but everything I do just makes me think about her even more." He replied desolately.  
  
"I know," Alex replied putting a comforting hand on his shoulder; "Last night Lombardo, Walsh, Jimmy and myself started looking for her, not having any luck."  
  
"I wish I knew what the person who took her wants." He said standing up, looking at a picture from his locker of the two of them together.  
  
She left him so he could get ready and got started on the bus. He quickly changed into his uniform and took one last look at a picture he kept in his locker of he and Kim together and went to help Alex.  
  
Kim had long since quit trying to fight against the tape they'd used to restrain her to the column. The gag and blindfold were still in place so she had no clue where she was or who was with her. Instead she focused on the sounds around her to see if she could get an idea of where she was. She heard what sounded like a foghorn on a boat and came to the conclusion she was near a body of water. She then focused on the footsteps that were heading towards her. Fear built up inside her when she heard two different sets of footsteps but tried to keep herself calm because panicking wasn't going to solve anything at the moment. The voices of the individuals coming towards her grew louder as they headed in her direction. She immediately recognized one of the voices as belonging to Craig. The second voice she heard she knew she'd heard before but couldn't place where she'd heard it. The third voice she'd never heard before in her life. She hated to imagine the state of mind Bobby; her mother and Joey must be in.  
  
All of a sudden she felt someone forcefully pull her head back by her hair and clamp their hand over her mouth. The sudden movement caused her to start panicking again but no matter what she thought, she was scared to death. She didn't know what these people wanted from her. A hand from behind her began to loosen the gag in her mouth but before it came off she heard Craig say, "I'll take the gag off you but the first attempt you make at screaming will be your last. Do you understand?"  
  
She slowly nodded her head yes and waited for the gag to be removed. The hand that had once been clamped over her mouth was gone and at the same time had removed the gag. She could finally breathe normally again which was a relief. After several minutes she felt the hand that had been holding her head immobile disappear, allowing her to move her head again. She debated on whether it would be wise to talk or just keep her mouth shut, so for a while she said nothing.  
  
"I have to say, you outdid yourself on this one. This by far has to be the best one you've found yet." Tony said to Craig.  
  
"I know, what can I say. I've never disappointed myself that's for sure." Craig replied, looking over to their helpless captive.  
  
She listened to their conversations and felt as if she was going to be sick. To them this was all one big joke, a game if you will. They didn't care whose lives they destroyed, just that they got their little kick out of what they did.  
  
"I'm surprised you haven't said a word since we took the gag off you," Tony whispered into her ear when Craig and Marc had left to get dinner.  
  
"Why are you all doing this?" she asked somewhat timidly, not sure if whoever she was talking to would beat her for asking a simple question.  
  
"My friend here has a thing for you cutie, you wouldn't give him the time of day so he had us come down and help him out." Tony replied.  
  
"Why would I give you all the time of day? I'm married for heaven's sake. I've got a husband and two kids that are probably scared to death right now." Kim said in return.  
  
"That's their loss and our gain. Pleading with us like that isn't going to cause us to let you go. Not after the effort it took us to get you here." Tony replied coldly.  
  
Kim didn't want to hear anymore so she began to think about her family and how worried they must be. Bobby probably thought she was in that building when several floors came down. She couldn't begin to imagine the frame of mind he must be in. Her mother was probably scared to death and then there were Joey and Keira. Joey would be frightened above all. Keira was too young to understand what had happened to her but would realize something wasn't right because of the actions of everyone around her.  
  
Alex drove around the city with Bobby, scanning around hoping to figure out where Kim might be being kept at. Luckily things were slow and no major calls were coming through. She knew all his thoughts were of Kim and what could be happening to her at this moment. They didn't know if the people who had her wanted money, were out for revenge, or what. All they knew was that they had to find her and pray nothing happened to her. Because if something did happen not only would it crush Bobby and her mother but everyone at the station as well. Her and Bobby and been through so much before they got together, no one wanted to see this cut short. If that happened two children would be left without a mother and a truckload of people would be hurt. Her friends, family, colleagues all would take it hard, but not as hard as those closest to her.  
  
Bobby sat in the passenger seat of the bus silently trying to come up with where Kim could be.  
  
"Sé que usted es fuera allí novio. Aguante por favor, nosotros lo encontraremos. Deseo que sepa donde ellos lo tomaron tan yo le podría traer hogar." He whispered softly, noticing Alex glancing over at him, casting a sorrowful glance in his direction. {I know you're out there sweetheart. Please hold on, we'll find you. I wish I knew where they took you so I could bring you home.}  
  
Pausing briefly, he continued with what he'd been saying. Alex figured it was something to do with Kim but couldn't be sure where she didn't speak Spanish.  
  
"Duramente no lo deberá tener alrededor, no instruido lo que estas gente podría estar haciendo a usted, está impotente no ser capaz de protegerlo. Sigo viendo lo que aconteció esa noche cada vez yo cierro los ojos, inolvidable mí." {It's hard not to have you around, not knowing what these people could be doing to you, being helpless not to be able to protect you. I keep seeing what happened that night each time I close my eyes, haunting me.}  
  
As they headed back to the station, he looked out at the bustling city around them as he spoke still. His voice began to waiver slightly with emotion as he spoke. It wasn't till now that Alex figured out that it was Kim he was speaking about.  
  
"Deseo que esto sea todo un sueño malo y nosotros se despertarían tener ninguno de esto aconteció. Cada vez yo miro Keira que veo usted. Ellos manera la literatura de velas su cara la noche que usted me dijo sería un padre, era irreal. Yo no descansaré hasta yo lo encuentra Kimmy y lo trae buscador sano y salvo." {I wish this were all one bad dream and we'd wake up having none of this happened. Each time I look at Keira I see you. They way the candles lit your face the night you told me I was going to be a father, it was unreal. I won't rest till I find you Kimmy and bring you home safe and sound.}  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
¡Mi hijo, usted parece atroz! Entre y permitanos discurso y usted puede decir mí lo que molesta usted.  
  
My son, you look awful! Come in and let's talk and you can tell me what's troubling you.  
  
Bueno, yo no puedo permanecer mucho tiempo aunque tengo que entrar el trabajo temprano.  
  
Ok, I can't stay long though I have to go into work early.  
  
Tenga cuidado mi hijo, y mejor de suerte en encontrar Kim.  
  
Be careful my son, and best of luck at finding Kim.  
  
Soy mamá siempre cuidadosa. Véalo pronto.  
  
I'm always careful mom. See you soon.  
  
Sé que usted es fuera allí novio. Aguante por favor, nosotros lo encontraremos. Deseo que sepa donde ellos lo tomaron tan yo le podría traer hogar.  
  
I know you're out there sweetheart. Please hold on, we'll find you. I wish I knew where they took you so I could bring you home.  
  
Duramente no lo deberá tener alrededor, no instruido lo que estas gente podría estar haciendo a usted, está impotente no ser capaz de protegerlo. Sigo viendo lo que aconteció esa noche cada vez yo cierro los ojos, inolvidable mí.  
  
It's hard not to have you around, not knowing what these people could be doing to you, being helpless not to be able to protect you. I keep seeing what happened that night each time I close my eyes, haunting me.  
  
Deseo que esto sea todo un sueño malo y nosotros se despertarían tener ninguno de esto aconteció. Cada vez yo miro Keira que veo usted. Ellos manera la literatura de velas su cara la noche que usted me dijo sería un padre, era irreal. Yo no descansaré hasta yo lo encuentra Kimmy y lo trae buscador sano y salvo.  
  
I wish this were all one bad dream and we'd wake up having none of this happened. Each time I look at Keira I see you. They way the candles lit your face the night you told me I was going to be a father, it was unreal. I won't rest till I find you Kimmy and bring you home safe and sound. 


	75. Tell me Why

Two days had now passed since Kim was taken at the scene of the fire. No leads had popped up and everyone was still holding on to hope that she was somewhere in the city. Bobby was growing more distant as each day went by, it was extremely obvious this was having a profound effect on him. One afternoon Alex looked at Jimmy and said, "We've got to find her. If we don't he's going to keep going downhill until someone does."  
  
"I'm going out to continue looking after the shift is up, want me to wait on you and we could go together?" he asked, seeing the worry in her eyes as she watched Bobby.  
  
"Sure. I'd planned on doing the same thing." Alex replied.  
  
Meanwhile back in the building, Craig and Tony had gone out for a bit which left Marc alone with Kim.  
  
"So we meet again, this time under different pretenses." Marc snided, standing in front of her; "Maybe we should send your little lover boy a picture of you at our mercy. I wonder how he'd react to that one."  
  
"You sick son of a bitch. What do you get out of this?" Kim hissed, starting to struggle against the tape once more.  
  
"I get plenty out of this. I'm glad I came out here or we would have never had the pleasure of meeting again." Marc sneered, tracing his hand along her jaw; "I do believe if my memory serves me correctly, you owe me a kiss from last time."  
  
"I owe you nothing. You and your friends are sick in the head." Kim snarled.  
  
Marc slipped his arms around Kim's waist and whispered, "I doubt you want to disappoint us honey, for if you do bad things could happen to those that you love and care about."  
  
Marc felt her body tense at his words and knew he'd struck a nerve.  
  
"If I was able I'd kick your ass for threatening my family." Kim ground out, feeling Marc's breath on her neck.  
  
"You're outnumbered darling, you couldn't take all three of us even if you tried." Marc sneered as he began to undo the buttons of her uniform top; "God you have an amazing body."  
  
She felt sick feeling this creeps hands running over her, she still had no clue where she knew him from. She felt him roll her undershirt up to expose her stomach and felt him start to press his lips against her exposed abdomen.  
  
"Get the hell off me!" she ground out angrily.  
  
"Now now, remember who has the upper hand here." Marc replied icily, forcefully kissing her on the mouth.  
  
She tried to fight back, which began to anger Marc immensely.  
  
"You aren't getting out of here any time soon so when my friends get back, tonight you will pay for fighting. From what I hear New York is rather cold during the winter." Marc taunted.  
  
He eventually left her alone and went off to do something else, finally giving her some peace and quiet. Marc heard Craig and Tony return and met them near the door to the building and said, "I think we should teach the wench in there a lesson about not fighting."  
  
"Just how do you propose we do that?" Craig asked.  
  
"NY is cold during the winter right?" Marc questioned.  
  
"Yeah, especially this time of year." Craig replied.  
  
"Nothing a little hypothermia can't fix." Marc suggested.  
  
"Not a bad idea, I like the sound of that." Craig said in response as the three of them headed back to where Kim was.  
  
Tony stood in front of her exerting pressure on her shoulders while Craig undid the tape on her arms. Marc undid the ropes on her wrists and both Craig and Marc held one of her arms so she couldn't struggle as they slipped her uniform top off as well as the turtleneck she had on, which left her wearing only a spaghetti strapped top. They redid the ropes on her wrists and put fresh tape on her wrists that held her to the column.  
  
"Hey have you ever thought of tormenting her husband or colleagues by sending pictures of her tied up like this?" Tony whispered quietly.  
  
"I'll go out and get a digital camera and we can take pictures and print them off back at the apartment and send them the print outs." Marc suggested.  
  
"I like the sound of that, make them bend to our will." Craig said evilly, loving the ideas they were coming up with; "I'm coming with you Marc, Tony you stay with her. Feel free to toy with her a bit."  
  
A wicked smile crossed Tony's face at Craig's words as they left. After the other two had gone, Tony began to torment Kim, taunting her ever so slightly.  
  
"It's really a pity it comes down to all this you know. We really aren't bad people, that is once you get to know us." He said calmly.  
  
"You all are sick. There is no way in hell I'd want to get to know any of you." she spat back at him.  
  
"If I were you I wouldn't make me angry, I have a very short temper." Tony warned.  
  
"Well so do I so you can forget it and leave me the hell alone." Kim ground out.  
  
"Don't think that's an option sexy." Tony sneered, backhanding her across the face for not heeding his warning.  
  
She felt a massive hand backhand her across the face with a lot of force and heard him taunt, "I warned you, but you had to push it didn't you."  
  
"You all are really starting to piss me off." Kim hissed, figuring she was going to have a huge bruise from where this asshole had hit her.  
  
"You must be a glutton for punishment bitch." Tony sneered; "The more you make me angry the more I'm going to have to hurt you, plain and simple."  
  
"Just wait till my husband finds me. You all will be in for one hell of an ass kicking." Kim replied angrily.  
  
"That my dear won't happen. We've gone to great lengths to make sure of that." Tony sneered; taking the pocketknife he had out and traced it over her stomach, pressing hard enough to draw a little blood to enhance the turnout of the pictures.  
  
She clenched her teeth as she felt him press the knife across her stomach, knowing there was enough pressure to draw blood. She heard Craig's voice returning and felt him stop and leave to talk to the other two men.  
  
"I did what you said and toyed with her a bit, but she started pissing me off so I enhanced the pictures we're about to take." Tony said, glaring back towards Kim.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Craig demanded.  
  
"Nothing too much." Tony replied as they returned to where she was restrained.  
  
Craig saw the crimson line across her undershirt from where the blood was seeping through and said, "How deep is that cut?"  
  
"Not deep, just enough to draw a little blood that's all." Tony replied.  
  
"It better not be, for your sake." Craig snapped, getting everything ready.  
  
Kim saw the flash of a camera through the blindfold and said to herself, "Please don't tell me they are going to send pictures of me like this to Bobby."  
  
"Soon lover boy will know your alive but won't be able to do a damn thing to help you." Craig sneered.  
  
They took a total of six pictures to start with and selected the best three to print out to send to Bobby and the company at the 55.  
  
"You any good with computers?" Craig asked Marc.  
  
"Yeah," Marc replied.  
  
"I haven't even set up the one I have in my apartment. We can get it up and running and print these off." Craig said; "Tony, put the gag back on her and come with us."  
  
Tony did as he was told and forced the gag back into her mouth and tied it tightly against her head and rejoined the others. They were gone for at least five hours, which meant five hours of peace and quiet for her. She was starting to get extremely tired. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the morning she'd been kidnapped, which was zapping her energy levels quickly.  
  
The three returned to Craig's apartment and got the computer up and running and connected the printer and installed the software that came with the camera. Once everything was ready Marc downloaded the pictures from the camera to the computer and they selected the three best ones and printed them off. After everything was done they headed out and picked up two envelopes that they could slide the pictures into without having to fold them but was thin enough to slip under a door. They stopped at the complex that Bobby and Kim shared, seeing his car gone and Craig ran up and slipped the first envelope under the door and quickly left. The next stop was at the 55. They let Tony out with the second envelope and told him to put it on one of the trucks in the bay since the doors would probably be open. Tony did as he was told, not seeing any cops across the street paying attention or anyone in the station and met Marc and Craig at the end of the street.  
  
Jimmy and several of the guys had gone out into the street and were passing a football to pass some time when one of them noticed the envelope sitting on the truck.  
  
"Hey guys, check this out." D.K said, heading towards the envelope.  
  
Walsh and Jimmy headed over to where he was and said, "Who on earth put that there?"  
  
"Dunno, anyone want to open it?" Walsh asked.  
  
"Here I'll do it." Jimmy said taking it from D.K and opening it, seeing three pieces of paper inside.  
  
"What the hell!" Jimmy exclaimed, looking at the pictures he held in his hand.  
  
"What is it Jimmy?" D.K asked, seeing the look of anger cross his face.  
  
He flipped through the pages, his heart just about stopping when he looked at the picture where Kim had been beaten and had the crimson line running across her undershirt.  
  
D.K and Walsh said nothing because they honestly didn't know what they could say at the moment when they looked at them. Jimmy stormed upstairs and headed straight for the punching bag. Walsh headed upstairs, D.K following close behind, having replaced the pictures in the envelope.  
  
Bobby was upstairs lying across the bunk and Alex had just come downstairs and was almost run over by Jimmy.  
  
"Jeez what's up with him today?" Alex asked, watching Jimmy beat the hell out of the bag.  
  
"Everyone come in here," D.K said heading towards the T.V room.  
  
"Want me to go get Bobby?" Alex asked.  
  
"Not right now, just come here first." D.K replied.  
  
"The three of us just found this envelope down on one of the trucks, the contents of it are what has Jimmy all riled up." D.K explained.  
  
"What is in it?" Alex asked.  
  
D.K handed her the envelope and watched the look of horror cross her face as she removed the pictures.  
  
"What kind of perverted joke is this!" Alex hissed, as she looked at the pictures and then up to D.K.  
  
"I wish I knew Alex, I wish I knew." Walsh replied sadly. 


	76. It's On

Shortly after Alex had seen the pictures, she and Bobby had to respond to a call. Bobby noticed a difference in Alex's attitude and wondered what had caused it.  
  
"You ok?" he asked.  
  
"I'll be fine. Just had a disagreement with Jimmy, that's all." She replied.  
  
While they were enroute to the call Bobby's cell phone began to ring. For a moment his hopes rose that a lead on Kim had been found, but when he answered he discovered it was only his mother. After they'd left the ER, Bobby turned to Alex and said, "Can we swing by my place so I can get some stuff mom needs for Keira?"  
  
"Sure, not a problem." Alex replied as they drove in the direction of the apartment complex.  
  
They pulled up and Alex waited in the bus while Bobby went up and got the stuff his mother had asked for. When he opened the door he noticed an envelope on the floor and picked it up. He didn't open it immediately though, he went about the process of getting the stuff together for his mother. After getting everything put into a bag, he tucked the envelope under his arm and left the apartment and headed back to the bus. Alex saw him coming and noticed the envelope he was carrying. It was identical to the one left at the firehouse and dread immediately built up in her stomach.  
  
"Mind if we drop this stuff off at my mom's that way I don't have to take it when I get off?" Bobby asked after climbing back in.  
  
"Tell me how to get there and we'll be off." Alex replied, not taking her eyes of the envelope he held.  
  
He noticed her looking intently at the envelope and asked, "Something wrong?"  
  
"Several of the guys found an identical envelope like that on one of the trucks shortly before we left to respond to the call we just finished up with. If the contents of the envelope you're holding are the same as the one at the station then heaven help us." Alex replied.  
  
As they drove he opened the envelope but decided not to remove its contents until after he'd taken the stuff to his mother. Alex waited on him in the bus while he took the stuff into his mother. He spent a little time with Keira and Joey and talked to his mother briefly before leaving. Before he left Joey asked quietly, "As anything new come up about mom?"  
  
Bobby shook his head sadly and said, "No, nothing new has come up yet. I'll keep you posted though if I hear anything ok?"  
  
"Ok," Joey said softly.  
  
Bobby bent down and gave him a comforting hug and said, "Don't worry we'll find her. All we can do is be strong until then."  
  
Joey nodded his head in response and watched Bobby leave and rejoin Alex in the bus.  
  
Alex's stomach churned, fearing the same three pictures were in the envelope Bobby had received. Several minutes later he climbed back into the rig and Alex pulled off.  
  
"How's Joey doing?" Alex asked.  
  
"Still scared and worried. Hopefully this will all be over soon." Bobby replied, slipping his hand into the envelope and removing three pieces of paper.  
  
"I know what you mean. I can't imagine what the poor kid is going through." Alex said, noticing a pained expression come across Bobby's face.  
  
She looked across at the pieces of paper in his hands and saw the exact same images she'd seen at the firehouse and sighed heavily as she drove back to the station. Bobby couldn't believe what he was looking at. When his eyes fell upon the third picture, the one with her beaten and bleeding a look of infuriation crossed his features. Apprehension and despair loomed on his mind, wondering what she had endured the past couple days. When they arrived at the station Bobby headed for the bunks to be alone for a while taking the pictures with him. As he sat on his bunk looking at the images before him he tried to get anything he could from the pictures.  
  
"¿Dónde lo tienen ellos Kimmy? Espero que ellos no lo lastimen ya que ellos tienen ya. Quienquiera que está atrás esto pagará. Sea apenas novio fuerte. Nada me podría mantener de encontrarlo." He said silently, looking over the image of her beaten and bleeding. {Where do they have you Kimmy? I hope they don't hurt you anymore than they already have. Whoever is behind this will pay. Just be strong sweetheart. Nothing could keep me from finding you.}  
  
Alex grabbed a soda from the fridge and sat thinking about Bobby's reaction to the images when she heard footsteps coming towards her and looked over her shoulder to see Jimmy heading in her direction.  
  
"Sorry about earlier. I needed to vent the pent up anger and frustration I felt after looking at those pictures." Jimmy said quietly; "No one showed those to Bobby did they?"  
  
"It's ok. I understand how you must have felt. None of us showed them to him, but whoever sent them to us sent a copy to him as well. He found them when he stopped to pick some stuff up for Keira." Alex replied.  
  
"He's already seen them!" Jimmy asked in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, he looked at them when we left his mothers after dropping some stuff she needed for Keira off." Alex replied softly.  
  
"Do you know if the cops next door have any new leads?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Nothing new that I'm aware of." She said in return, digging out her cell phone.  
  
"Who are you calling?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Faith and Bosco. I figure they will want to see these pictures." Alex replied, watching him head upstairs.  
  
Alex quickly dialed the number and waited for Faith to pick up.  
  
The two officers were driving around the city, Bosco not doing much other than driving and Faith sat in the passenger seat thinking what it must be like for Kim's children with her missing. She was snapped from her thought by the sound of her phone ringing.  
  
"You gonna get that?" Bosco asked.  
  
"No, I'd planned on having you answer it." Faith replied sarcastically as she picked her phone up and answered it.  
  
"Hey Faith, this is Alex. Whenever you can, could you and Bosco stop by the firehouse? We got an interesting package you all might want to take a look at." She said quietly.  
  
"Sure. We're just driving around so we'll head on over." Faith replied.  
  
"Ok, I'll meet you two outside the firehouse then." Alex said in return.  
  
"Sounds good, we'll be there shortly." Faith replied before hanging up.  
  
After she'd hung up the phone Bosco glanced over and asked, "Who was that?"  
  
"It was Alex. The firehouse got something we should take a look at." Faith said to her partner.  
  
"Did she say what it was?" Bosco asked as he headed the RMP towards the firehouse.  
  
"No, but I would imagine it would probably have something to do with Kim or she wouldn't have called." Faith said in response.  
  
Jimmy found Bobby upstairs staring blankly into space and asked quietly, "You ok?"  
  
"Not really," he replied looking at the background of one of the pictures.  
  
"We're going to find her. That much I know for sure. Then the coward or cowards that are behind this will pay." Jimmy said, hoping his revelation would come true sooner than later.  
  
"I know, I just hope it's soon and that they don't do anything else to hurt her." He replied, seeing Jimmy getting ready to leave to go downstairs once more.  
  
About ten minutes after Alex spoke with Faith they arrived. She had been waiting outside on the front of one of the trucks with the pictures in the envelope.  
  
"What did you want us to take a look at?" Bosco asked.  
  
Alex handed the envelope to him and replied; "Jimmy, Walsh and D.K found this sitting on one of the engines earlier."  
  
Bosco opened the envelope and pulled out the three pieces of paper as Faith looked over his shoulder. They flipped through the three images, each feeling hatred building at whomever was behind this and asked, "Who all has seen these?"  
  
"We all have. Whoever sent those even sent a copy of them to Bobby at his apartment." Alex replied.  
  
"He's seen these?" Faith asked.  
  
"Yeah, I was with him when he opened the one he got at his apartment. He didn't take it to well either." She replied.  
  
"I can imagine. Do you mind if we keep these?" Faith asked.  
  
"Sure go ahead." Alex said in response.  
  
"Thanks for letting us know about this. Whoever is behind this will go down for good. You have our word on that." Bosco said as he and Faith turned to go across the street.  
  
That night after his shift, Bobby headed down along the riverbank to try and think of where she could be that they haven't already looked.  
  
"What am I missing in these pictures that could give me some idea of where she is?" he silently asked himself.  
  
As he paced the shore he heard a car pull up and crouched in the darkness behind some rocks and saw someone throw a bag down about five feet from where he was. It landed in the water and as the current moved to and from shore it gradually began to float away. When the individual left and the coast was clear he moved from his hiding spot and found a stick long enough to reach the bag and brought it back to shore. Since it was rather cold out he was wearing gloves, but still his hands were starting to get cold. Another good reason he had gloves on was because he had no clue what was even in this bag so at least whatever it was he wouldn't come in contact with.  
  
It was so dark out he couldn't see a thing after he'd untied the bag. He dug into his pocket and found his penlight from work and turned it on and held it in his mouth, focusing the light on the contents of the bag. As the light shone onto what was resting in the bag he realized he was looking at two articles of clothing. One he made out to be a turtleneck type shirt, but the other made his blood run cold. Underneath the turtleneck, the light from the penlight shone on a patch that was sewn onto the left sleeve of a paramedic uniform.  
  
Spanish Translation:  
  
~~~  
  
¿Dónde lo tienen ellos Kimmy? Espero que ellos no lo lastimen ya que ellos tienen ya. Quienquiera que está atrás esto pagará. Sea apenas novio fuerte. Nada me podría mantener de encontrarlo.  
  
Where do they have you Kimmy? I hope they don't hurt you anymore than they already have. Whoever is behind this will pay. Just be strong sweetheart. Nothing could keep me from finding you. 


	77. Circle of Fear

"Oh god no!" Bobby said alarmed, looking at the patch on the shirt.  
  
He quickly looked on the underside of the tag on the inside of the collar to see if there were initials on it and there were. His eyes focused on the black ink written letters on the underside of the tag. The light emitted from his penlight landed on the letters KZ and he felt his heart drop instantaneously. She'd never changed the initials on the tag after they'd been married which cemented the fact that whoever it was that had disposed of it was involved with her disappearance in some way, shape or form. He quickly called Alex to see where everyone had been searching.  
  
Alex and Jimmy were walking along together, flashlights in hand looking for any signs when her cell phone began to ring.  
  
"I thought you and I were the only ones out looking tonight." Jimmy said as Alex dug her cell phone out of her pocket.  
  
"That's what I thought too." Alex replied before answering.  
  
As she turned her attention to the voice on the other end she heard the voice of a very worried Bobby.  
  
"Alex, has anyone looked down near the river for her?" he asked urgently, pacing back and forth.  
  
"Not that I know of, let me double check." Alex replied, placing her hand over the phone and talking to Jimmy.  
  
"It's Bobby. He wants to know if anyone has looked near the river." She said to Jimmy.  
  
"I don't think anyone has. Why?" Jimmy replied.  
  
"I just talked to Jimmy and he says he doesn't think anyone's checked on the river. Why do you ask?" Alex said back to Bobby.  
  
"Because I am down here now. I was trying to think of where else to look for her when someone threw a bag into the water, I was able to fish it out but the contents of the bag lead me to believe she's around here somewhere." Bobby replied, trying to calm himself down.  
  
"What was in it?" Alex asked nervously.  
  
"A navy blue turtleneck and a paramedic uniform top." He replied.  
  
"Are you sure it's hers?" Alex asked, glancing worriedly at Jimmy.  
  
"Yeah. She put her initials on the underside of the tag on the collar but when we got married she never changed it." Bobby replied, glancing at several large warehouses.  
  
"Where are you? Jimmy and I will be there shortly." Alex asked.  
  
Bobby gave her the location of where he was and waited for them. As they dashed back towards his car Jimmy asked, "What did he find?"  
  
"Someone dumped a bag containing a turtleneck and a paramedic uniform top with Kim's initials on them." Alex replied, climbing into his car.  
  
Meanwhile back at Craig's apartment, Tony had just come back in and found Marc and Craig both sipping on beers.  
  
"You dispose of the clothes like we asked you to?" Craig asked.  
  
"Yeah, I threw them in the river several blocks away." Tony replied.  
  
"Anyone see you?" Craig said back.  
  
"I don't think so. It was awfully dark down there and I didn't see anyone around." Tony replied getting a beer and joining them.  
  
"Good." Craig said in response, taking another swig of beer.  
  
Later on, Kim heard voices walking past the building she was in but had no way of letting them know she was inside. She was still gagged from earlier and the tape was showing no signs of loosening up. As she listened to the voices she instantly recognized them as Alex, Jimmy and Bobby. She began to struggle trying to find some way to let them know she was there but was unable to and hung her head in despair. She was starting to get weak, and if it weren't for the restraints she probably wouldn't be able to keep herself upright.  
  
Alex, Jimmy and Bobby walked past several warehouses along the river, looking at each of them wondering if Kim were inside one of them. All of them had the windows boarded up since they were no longer in use.  
  
"I know from the pictures that wherever she is has windows boarded up, but every single one of these is like that." Alex said, shining her flashlight on the boarded panels across the windows.  
  
"Yeah, it makes me wonder if she is in one of them but not able to let us know she's there." Bobby replied, thinking back to the way she'd been tied up in the pictures.  
  
Jimmy looked down at his watch and noticed it was almost 4 in the morning.  
  
"I think we ought to call it a night and start back up when its daylight. We might be able to get more clues that way." Jimmy suggested; "Not only that, we all have to work today too."  
  
Alex looked at her watch and said, "It's almost 4 in the morning, it doesn't seem like we've been out here that long."  
  
"What time do we want to meet?" Alex asked as they headed back towards their cars.  
  
"How does 11:30 or 12 sound?" Jimmy suggested.  
  
"Works for me," Bobby replied, glancing back in the direction they'd just come from; "You all want to meet back here tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah, that sounds good." Jimmy replied as they headed towards their cars.  
  
"See you all in about 8 hours then," Bobby replied tiredly as he headed for his car.  
  
When he got home, no messages were waiting on the answering machine so he headed in for a shower before he tried to get some sleep. As the hot water flowed over him he tried to think of something in any of the pictures that would identify what building she was in.  
  
"Come on Kimmy, give me some clue as to where you are." He thought silently, looking over one of the pictures before he went to sleep.  
  
He was up and down all night long racking his brain trying to get something out of the pictures. He left the apartment around nine and went to check on Kim's mother and visit with Joey and Keira at his mothers. He spent about thirty minutes with her mom before he left to check on the kids before meeting up with Jimmy and Alex. He arrived back at the river around 10:30 to do some searching on his own before. He walked back past the rows of warehouses, seeing if there was something that he'd missed last night where it was dark. He looked at one of the pictures and tried to compare the way the windows were boarded but that wasn't proving helpful.  
  
Sighing heavily, he walked back to the meeting spot to wait on Alex and Jimmy to see if they might notice something he could have overlooked.  
  
"How much you want to bet Bobby's already started looking for her again at the river." Jimmy said as Alex climbed into his car.  
  
"Wouldn't surprise me if he had. He's running himself into the ground but till someone finds her I imagine he'll keep this up." Alex replied.  
  
"I'd probably do the same thing if I were in his position." Jimmy said, driving off towards the river once she was in the car.  
  
"Do you think she could be down near the river?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"Right now she could be anywhere, so I'm willing to look everywhere we can think of that she could possibly be kept at." Jimmy replied.  
  
When they pulled in the saw Bobby sitting on the ground, looking out across the river.  
  
"I wonder how much sleep he got last night." Alex said as they walked.  
  
"Just guessing, I'd say not much." Jimmy replied, heading in Bobby's direction.  
  
When they were within earshot range Alex said, "How long have you been here?"  
  
"Since 10:30," he replied standing up.  
  
"Ready to get started?" Jimmy asked, climbing down a small embankment to where they were the night before.  
  
Craig, Marc and Tony arrived at the warehouse around noon, each wondering how Kim had faired through out the night. When they walked in Marc asked, "Want us to ungag her?"  
  
"Possibly, but leave it in till I tell you other wise." Craig replied.  
  
Marc nodded his head in agreement and went to see how she'd come through the night.  
  
"Have you learned anything yet cutie?" Marc sneered when he approached her.  
  
She didn't even acknowledge his presence, which began to make him angry.  
  
"I know you can hear me," he replied in her ear, jerking her head back by her hair.  
  
"Leave her alone for a bit Marc," Craig said, entering the room a short time later.  
  
"Why? She's had all night to herself." Marc huffed.  
  
"You really want to challenge me?" Craig snapped.  
  
Marc backed down and let her go and went to find Tony.  
  
"Well Kimmy how was your evening?" Craig taunted, loosening the gag in her mouth.  
  
"Like it would matter to you if I answered!" Kim managed to get out.  
  
"You brought this upon yourself. If you would have just listened this could have been a lot easier on you." Craig taunted.  
  
"Like hell!" Kim weakly hissed.  
  
Craig was about ready to say something in return when he heard three familiar voices and quickly shoved the gag back in between her lips before she could open her mouth to call for help.  
  
"They can look for you all they want but they'll never find you." Craig hissed before heading towards Marc and Tony.  
  
She heard the voices of Alex, Bobby and Jimmy and tried to struggle against the bonds but was too weak from hypothermia and dehydration. She'd hoped she would be able to see the faces of her friends and family again. The things she fought to keep living for were Bobby and her kids. If there were something she could do to draw their attention she'd do whatever it took, but the restraints prevented her from moving and the gag prevented her from screaming. All she could do was listen to their voices fade away as they moved away from the building. 


	78. Never Surrender

Four days had passed since her disappearance, and she was clinging on hoping to get out of the clutches of these demented lunatics. They had removed the blindfold from her eyes since she was too weak to struggle or fight back. Craig was alone with her for a while since Marc and Tony were out getting a few things. He decided to go over and provoke her a bit since he wasn't sure how long it would take his to accomplices to get back.  
  
"See what you could have prevented if you would have just cooperated?" Craig taunted at her.  
  
"I'd never choose to be with you even if I had been single," Kim replied after drawing in a shaky breath. It was starting to become hard to breathe, partially from the smoke she'd inhaled at the fire and partially from the dehydration.  
  
"Where's your husband now? I don't see him here trying to save you. You never know, by now he's probably moved on." Craig sneered.  
  
"He will. I have faith in him to find me. No he wouldn't. He's not that kind of person, he won't give up till I'm out of here and safe! " Kim replied, praying it was soon that she would be out of here.  
  
Anger welled inside Craig at the fact that no matter what he did to her; nothing could break the bond that had formed between her and Bobby. Craig began to punch her in the stomach and snarled, "Would you give your life to save him?"  
  
"In a heartbeat. He and my children are the most important things in my life. I saved his life once and I'd do it again." She replied valiantly, wincing as she drew in a raspy breath.  
  
"We just might test that theory later. See if you're willing to back that statement up." Craig sneered, backhanding her across the face before leaving.  
  
"Nothing can ever change the way I feel about him. Do to me as you like but he is the one person who has changed my life." She said back, feeling her head start to swim a bit.  
  
Back at the firehouse, everyone was worried about Bobby. As each day passed he got more reclusive and silent, spending most of his time upstairs lying on his bunk. Alex had tried to convince him to come downstairs with her but he wouldn't listen to her so she left him alone.  
  
"How is he?" Jimmy asked.  
  
"Not good. We've got to find Kim or else he's probably never going to snap out of this." Alex said as she sat down.  
  
"I wish I knew where else to look. We've covered a lot of territory over four days but we don't have a definite direction that whoever has her took her in." Jimmy replied, looking over at Alex.  
  
He noticed she had an odd look on her face and said, "What are you thinking?"  
  
"Oh nothing, I just got a really bad feeling. The same kind of feeling I had when Craig started trying to pick a fight with Bobby that one afternoon." Alex said nervously.  
  
"Maybe you should go with your instincts. What do you think this bad feeling means?" Jimmy asked worriedly.  
  
Before she could respond a call came in and everyone headed out to the scene of a motor vehicle accident.  
  
Craig stormed out of the building and left, not caring that she was ungagged. She was too weak to scream so he really didn't care.  
  
Faith and Bosco were driving around and turned onto a quiet street on the riverfront. Not much was happening, except for a very angry individual storming out of a warehouse. Faith watched the person get into their car and peel off, just about hitting their RMP when they peeled out.  
  
"That damn son of a bitch just about hit us!" Bosco fumed, about ready to slam his foot on the accelerator.  
  
"Bosco stop! I've got a bad feeling about something. Let me out." Faith said  
  
"But what about that jag-off!" Bosco asked angrily.  
  
"You chase him if you want but let me the hell out!" Faith demanded.  
  
"Fine!" Bosco huffed.  
  
Faith jumped out of the RMP and Bosco tore off after the black car that had nearly hit them. She heard Bosco call in the chase and gave the address to the warehouse where Faith was. She carefully entered the building and drew her gun and progessed slowly into the boarded up warehouse. The windows were all boarded shut so she had to take out her flashlight to see where she was going because on an overcast day there wasn't much light inside at all.  
  
Kim was starting to drift in and out of consciousness. Her breaths were coming rapidly but very shallowly and her face was literally drained of all color. She kept picturing some of the best moments of her life, past and present. She thought of Bobby and how much she missed him through all this. Her friends at work, who always treated her, like one of the guys. Most of all she thought of her children. Joey and Keira, how blessed she was to have such two beautiful children.  
  
Faith slowly progressed through the building, checking different sections of it slowly and carefully. When she rounded the corner to one of the rooms, she found Kim bound to a column clinging to life. She quickly holstered her weapon and ran over to her friend, radioing for a bus on a rush as she moved. Faith began to undo the tape around Kim's ankles first and then freed her arms and gently lowered her to the floor. She put her jacket over Kim's body, trying to conserve what little heat she had left in her.  
  
"Kim, its Faith, help's coming, just hang on." She said gently, checking for a pulse on her wrist and neck while she waited for the bus.  
  
Kim heard a voice and momentarily opened her eyes and saw Faith but quickly fell unconscious once more, relieved that she'd finally been found.  
  
Doc and Carlos arrived moments later, rushing into the building looking for Faith.  
  
"What you got Yokas?" Doc called as they came in.  
  
"Doc hurry! It's Kim and she's not doing to good!" Faith yelled in response.  
  
The two medics ran that much faster to where Faith was kneeling next to Kim.  
  
"Faith, go keep an eye out for Bobby. He doesn't need to see her like this." Carlos said as he prepared to start two large bore IV's on her.  
  
Faith nodded her head and ran outside watching for Bobby.  
  
Doc started doing vitals on her and said, "Her BP is dangerously low, we've got to go now!"  
  
They quickly got her on a backboard and headed for the bus. As they came out they said to Faith, "We need you to drive, its going to take both of us to monitor her."  
  
She immediately ran to the front of the bus and climbed in as they loaded Kim in and pulled the doors. They had her on oxygen but her O² sat was dropping rapidly. Doc got ready to intubate since the oxygen wasn't helping when she started going into respiratory arrest. Carlos started doing chest compressions since she'd stopped breathing before Doc had gotten the intubation tube in. Faith heard what was going on and stepped on it, knowing time was of the essence at this point.  
  
Alex and Bobby were sitting around talking and sipping on coffee when they saw Doc's rig fly past them.  
  
"Wonder what they got?" Alex asked, looking over at Bobby.  
  
"I dunno," he replied dully.  
  
"Wanna follow them?" she asked curiously.  
  
"If you want to." He replied softly, not caring what she did at this point.  
  
Alex put the bus in gear and headed towards the hospital. The couldn't see Doc's rig anymore but knew where they would be and headed towards the ER, not knowing that it was Kim that they were rushing there.  
  
Faith quickly brought the bus to a halt and jumped out and helped unload Kim and rush into the ER. Doc shouted out vitals as they rushed into the first trauma suite where additional doctors and nurses were waiting. As the left the room, one of the nurses pulled a curtain across the window and they all headed back out of the room with heavy hearts, knowing they had to tell Bobby about how bad a shape she was in. When Alex and Bobby came into the ER, they saw Doc, Carlos and Faith coming out of one of the trauma suites with grave looks upon their faces. Alex suddenly thought back to the conversation she'd had with Jimmy earlier that afternoon and realized they must have found Kim.  
  
She quietly mouthed the word 'Kim' to the three of them and they all nodded their heads yes. She looked up at Bobby and said almost inaudibly, "They found her."  
  
Time slowly ticked by as they waited on any news of her condition. Eventually Doc and Carlos returned to take calls and Alex stayed to lend support to Bobby. He was relieved that she'd been found but knew by the look on Doc and Carlos' face that she wasn't in good shape, but he didn't know how bad things actually were. He paced back and forth across the waiting room floor, looking towards the room Kim was in. He couldn't see a thing because of the curtain across the glass and sighed heavily as a million thoughts rushed through his head.  
  
"Bobby, come sit down. There's nothing we can do till they get her stabilized." Alex said softly, seeing the troubled look in his eyes as he looked towards the trauma suite she was in.  
  
He heard Alex's words and looked over at her, seeing she was just as worried as he was. He slumped down into the chair next to her and did the only thing he could do at this point which was wait. Wait till the time that information on her condition was made known. 


	79. Holding On

Minutes slowly turned into hours as they sat and waited. He silently prayed in Spanish for her to be ok. He thought about Joey and Keira who were with Kim's mom while he and the people at the station looked for her every day before and after their shifts. He wondered where she had been when she was found. Was it in a place they had been past while looking for her or somewhere no where near the city? He knew he should call her mother and let her know what had happened but wanted to know how she was doing that way they could pass on any details to her.  
  
A short time later Alex heard the sound of a door opening and saw a doctor heading in their direction. She put her hand on Bobby's shoulder and quietly said, "The doctor's coming."  
  
He stood up and looked past the doctor that was moving towards them. Looking into the room he saw her motionless form surrounded by machines. The face of the doctor gave no immediate answers to his fears so the only thing he could do was either prepare for the worst and hope what he heard was the opposite. He turned back and looked at Alex, running his hands nervously through his hair when the doctor reached where they were and began to speak.  
  
"Your wife is a very lucky woman. If the police hadn't found her when they did she probably wouldn't have lasted longer than six hours in her current condition." Doctor Troiano began to say.  
  
"How is she?" Bobby asked nervously, wondering what the individuals who had taken her had done to her.  
  
"She was so severely dehydrated when she came in she was starting to go into shock. She was drifting in and out of consciousness when she came in and is still unconscious as we speak right now. She was having difficulty breathing when she came in and from what we got from those who brought her in she'd started to go into respiratory arrest so we've got her hooked up to a ventilator to make it easier for her to breathe. Hypothermia is also a problem as well. Her temp when she came in was 81°F, so we're working to bring her temperature up by giving her warmed IV fluids as well as keeping warm blankets on her. She's also got a lot of bruising as well; not to mention a knife wound across her stomach, which doesn't look to be infected." Dr. Troiano said; "Was she the one missing in that fire almost a week ago?"  
  
Bobby nodded his head yes in response, as everything the doctor had just told him sunk in.  
  
"We'll go ahead and treat her for smoke inhalation as well just to make sure her lungs didn't sustain any damage." Dr. Troiano replied, making a mental note to add that to the chart.  
  
"Can I go in and see her?" Bobby finally asked quietly before the doctor left.  
  
"You can go in and see her. As soon as I get any lab results back I'll let you know where we stand from there." Dr. Troiano said before heading off towards another patient.  
  
Alex looked over at Bobby and saw a look of relief cross his face that she was alive, but one of nervousness about how much she'd been through and what toll it had taken on her.  
  
"Go be with her. I'll call her mom and everyone back at the station and let them know." Alex said softly before leaving to go outside to make the necessary calls.  
  
Bobby slowly walked towards her room, looking at her motionless form. The first thing he noticed when he walked in was the large bruises on her face, how much it was contrasted against her extremely pale skin. He guessed she'd lost about 7% of her normal body weight from dehydration, and the signs of cyanosis were starting to go as the vent pumped air into her lungs. He looked at the heart monitor she was connected to since the dehydration had caused her heart to start to beat abnormally and watched it for a few minutes before sitting down. He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and gently took her left hand into his. Her hand was literally like ice and he gently began to rub her hand in between his, hoping the heat caused from the friction would help slowly raise her temperature.  
  
Alex called Kim's mother first and let the phone ring for a bit when no one answered. She next dialed the number to the station and didn't get an answer from them either. After waiting for several minutes she tried Kim's mother again and got an answer. She gently began to tell her that Kim had been found and was in the hospital.  
  
"How is she?" Kim's mother asked, grabbing a tissue from the box sitting on the table.  
  
"She's in rough shape. Right now she's unconscious and Bobby's in with her at the moment." Alex replied.  
  
"I'll be there as soon as I can and bring the kids with me." She said softly.  
  
"Ok, I'll let Bobby know." Alex replied as she hung up the phone.  
  
Alex then tried the station again and didn't get an answer and decided to try Jimmy's cell phone. Jimmy and the guys were coming back from a call, talking in the back of the truck when his phone began to ring. He looked down at the number and saw it was Alex and motioned for the guys in the truck to quiet down. Alex heard him pick up and heard the quiet chatter of the guys on the squad and heard Jimmy's voice come over the phone.  
  
"What is it Alex?" he asked.  
  
"Jimmy, they found Kim." She replied, almost ready to cry as she thought of what the doctor had told Bobby.  
  
"How is she?" Jimmy asked anxiously, noticing the firetruck had grown silent.  
  
"She's unconscious. The doctor said she was so severely dehydrated that she was having trouble breathing so they had to put her on a vent to make it easier on her." Alex began to say.  
  
A hurt look came across Jimmy's face as he listened to what Alex said and the guys instinctively knew it must be about Kim and it couldn't be good. Walsh was driving and D.K leaned over and whispered, "Let's swing by Mercy and check on Kim." Walsh nodded his head in response and headed towards the hospital to check on one of their own. Alex went back into the ER and sat down and waited on Bobby, not knowing that the rest of the crew from the 55 was on their way.  
  
A short time later Bobby came out as they took her up to the ICU to let Alex know what was going on.  
  
"Did you get a hold of her mom?" he asked softly, as he watched her being taken towards the elevators to go to the ICU.  
  
"Yeah, she said she'd be here as soon as she could with the kids. I also got a hold of the guys at the house so they will probably swing by too. Go on up and be with her. If her mom or the guys show up I'll bring them up to where you all are." She replied quietly.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in response and began to move towards the elevators. Alex went outside and leaned against the back doors of the ambulance as some tears slipped down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand when she heard several doors closing and peeked around the edge of the ambulance to see the guys from the 55 coming towards the hospital. They caught sight of her when she peaked around the side of the rig and headed towards her.  
  
"What are you doing out here?" Jimmy asked quietly.  
  
"Getting some air. I figured you all would be coming so I waited out here." Alex replied.  
  
"How is she?" he asked.  
  
"No real change as of yet. They just took her up to ICU." Alex replied.  
  
The rest of the guys headed into the ER and towards the elevators to go to ICU and Jimmy hung back with Alex for a bit.  
  
"You ok?" he asked, noticing tears forming in her eyes once more.  
  
She managed a weak response as several tears slipped down her face and quickly wiped them away. Jimmy slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders and said softly, "Feel up to heading up to ICU?"  
  
She nodded her head in response and she and Jimmy headed towards the intensive care unit that Kim was on.  
  
Tears had begun to fall from Bobby's face now. Looking at her condition combined with the thoughts of what she'd gone through the past four days lingered on his mind. She was still deathly pale, but the blue tints from hypoxia were gradually going away as he watched her chest rise and fall with each breath the vent pumped into her lungs. He heard voices out in the hall and got up and stuck his head out the door and saw the group from the 55 gathered in the waiting room. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and whispered softly to her before he left the room.  
  
"Estoy aquí Kimmy. Estaré aquí con usted cada paso del novio de la manera. Yo nunca lo saldré. Todos de la estación son fuera en la sala de espera. Seré espalda tan pronto como hablo a ellos." {I'm here Kimmy. I'll be here with you every step of the way sweetheart. I'll never leave you. Everyone from the station is out in the waiting room. I'll be back as soon as I talk to them.}  
  
As he headed towards the group, he saw the worried expressions on everyone's face.  
  
"How is she?" Alex asked quietly.  
  
"Not good." He replied softly.  
  
He glanced at his colleagues and said to Jimmy and Alex, "You two can go ahead and go see her for a bit."  
  
They headed towards her room as Bobby took a seat with the remaining firefighters and sighed, thinking about how close he came to loosing her if she hadn't been found.  
  
"She'll be fine. She's a fighter, we all know that. She's got too much to live for to do that." D.K said, noticing the worry etched in Bobby's features.  
  
"I know," he replied quietly, thinking about how to prepare her mom for what she was going to see.  
  
Alex and Jimmy walked down the corridor side by side and entered the room. Alex stopped in her tracks, unable to believe that she was looking at the motionless form of her best friend.  
  
"How could we have let this happen to her?" Alex stammered as Jimmy turned her head away from the sight before them.  
  
"She's a fighter, always has been Alex. She'll pull through this." He told her quietly, hugging her close.  
  
"You didn't hear what the doctor told Bobby," Alex began to say softly, forcing herself to control her emotions.  
  
"What did he say?" he asked, looking at the form of his ex-wife.  
  
"If Faith had found her six hours later she probably wouldn't have been alive." She barely managed to get out; unable to hold back tears once again.  
  
Several tears slipped down his face as well, thinking about how close he'd come to loosing the mother of his son. Alex left the room for a bit to try and pull herself together. D.K watched her leave and wondered how Jimmy was handling this. Jimmy took a seat beside her bed and began to pray, hoping he was right that she'd get through this. He never expected to come this close to loosing the mother of his son. Several minutes later he felt a presence behind him and turned to see D.K standing behind him.  
  
"When I find whoever did this to her, they will pay for this." Jimmy whispered angrily, thinking back to four days ago when he'd last seen her. She'd been talking and laughing like there wasn't a care in the world.  
  
"Calm down. Right now all we can do is be supportive and help her get through this. We've got to keep a positive attitude. You're right, whoever did this to her will pay, but we won't know who was involved till she wakes up." D.K said quietly, standing next to Jimmy.  
  
As they left her room, Alex had headed to go pick up Kim's mom and the kids. Bobby had talked to her briefly and told her Alex would be stopping by to pick them up to bring them down. Ten minutes later they arrived in the ICU, and saw the sympathetic glances everyone was giving her mother. Bobby began to try and prepare her mother for what to expect as they slowly headed towards her room. Alex sat and held Keira while Jimmy talked with Joey. Before they entered her room, Bobby looked at her mother and said, "Are you sure you're ready?"  
  
"A person can never be ready for something like this," she replied quietly, standing outside her daughters room.  
  
Together they slowly entered her room. She froze when she saw the shape Kim was in. She couldn't believe that she was looking at her daughter surrounded by machines, lying motionless before them. Bobby had noticed a bit more color in her face and the tints from hypoxia were just about gone. After several minutes she was finally able to move and made her way towards her daughters bedside. Bobby backed out of the room to give her mother some time alone with her and stood just outside the door. As she stood beside the bed she took her daughters hand into hers, gasping at how cold she was.  
  
"What did they do to you?" her mother whispered softly, as she sank into the chair at the bedside as tears of relief, worry and fear began to cascade down her face.  
  
Spanish Translations:  
  
Estoy aquí Kimmy. Estaré aquí con usted cada paso del novio de la manera. Yo nunca lo saldré. Todos de la estación son fuera en la sala de espera. Seré espalda tan pronto como hablo a ellos.  
  
I'm here Kimmy. I'll be here with you every step of the way sweetheart. I'll never leave you. Everyone from the station is out in the waiting room. I'll be back as soon as I talk to them. 


	80. I Need You

Alex and some of the firefighters played with Keira, which helped brighten their moods a bit. Joey sat near where Alex was and looked towards the corridor that his mother's room was on. He looked over at his father who had just sat down and said softly, "Can I go see mom for a bit?"  
  
Jimmy looked down at his young son and saw the worry and fear in his eyes and knew he was just as worried about Kim as everyone else.  
  
"Maybe in a little while you can go in and see her." Jimmy replied, wondering if Joey could handle seeing Kim in her current condition.  
  
"Promise?" Joey asked quietly, looking up at his father.  
  
"I promise. You can see your mother soon." Jimmy replied, seeing the tiredness in his son's eyes.  
  
Joey fell asleep later on next to Jimmy, wondering about how his mother was doing. Bobby had slipped back into the room to check on Kim's mother to make sure she was ok. Jimmy looked over at Alex who was still holding a now sleeping Keira and asked, "You want me to hold her for a while?"  
  
"Sure, I could use a bit of a break." She replied quietly.  
  
She stood up and gently placed her into Jimmy's arms and headed for the bathroom. Bobby and Kim's mother emerged from the room several minutes after she'd left and they headed towards where Jimmy was. Alex returned five minutes later and she, Bobby, Jimmy and Kim's mother stood several feet away talking so they wouldn't disturb Joey who was still asleep. Jimmy had passed Keira back over to Bobby since she was still asleep. Holding her while she slept made him think back to when Joey had been that size and how he'd never thought he'd ever loose Kim, but thanks to his own stupidity it happened. Minutes later Kim's mom went to go get something to eat since she'd fed the kids but had so much on her mind she hadn't felt like eating herself.  
  
Jimmy and Alex started talking quietly and Bobby took the opportunity to call his mom and tell her that they'd found Kim. He moved to one of the far areas of the waiting room and pulled out his cell phone and sat down, cradling Keira in one arm and dialing his phone with his free hand. She had been folding some clean laundry and was putting them up when she heard the phone ring and heard her son on the other end, but as she listened to the noise in the background realized something wasn't right.  
  
"¿Qué está Roberto equivocado?" she asked gently. {What's wrong Roberto?}  
  
"La mamá, ellos encontraron Kim. Estoy aquí en el hospital con ella." He replied softly, as Keira began to stir. {Mom, they found Kim. I'm here at the hospital with her.}  
  
"¿Ella está bien?" she asked, feeling relieved that she'd been found. {Is she ok?}  
  
"Ella es inconsciente. Ella era tan se deshidrató severamente cuando ella entró ella llevaba ya en y fuera de conocimiento. El doctor dijo si ella había sido encontrada seis horas luego ella probablemente no habría estado vivo." He replied, seeing the doctor coming. {She's unconscious. She was so severely dehydrated when she came in she was already drifting in and out of consciousness. The doctor said if she had been found six hours later she probably wouldn't have been alive.}  
  
"¿Qué hizo a ella poner estas gentela en esa condición?" his mother asked softly. {What did these people do to her to put her in that condition?}  
  
"Yo no sé. Adivino que nosotros la tendremos que esperar para regresar antes averiguamos lo que ellos hicieron a ella." He replied, hoping it would be soon that she would wake up. {I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait for her to come back before we find out what they did to her.}  
  
"Ella es obtenida para vivir demasiado para no hacerlo. Ella lo es obtenida, ella dos niños hermosos y sus amigos y la familia para vivir para. Estoy bastante seguro que es lo que mantuvo su vivo esto mucho tiempo." His mother replied. {She's got too much to live for to not make it. She's got you, her two beautiful children and her friends and family to live for. I'm pretty sure that's what kept her alive this long.}  
  
"Sé. Tengo sin duda's la memoria de mí y los niños son lo que mantuvo su vivo esto mucho tiempo." he replied knowing what his mother said was true. {I know. I have no doubt it's the memory of me and the kids is what kept her alive this long.}  
  
Kim's mother had left to get something to eat since she hadn't eaten all day and Jimmy and Alex stood talking quietly to avoid bothering Joey who was still asleep. Keira had just woken up and was starting to get fidgety so Bobby told his mother he'd call her back later. He went and started talking to Alex and Jimmy; unaware that Joey was about to wake up. Joey heard the three of them talking and decided to go see how his mom was doing. Before he headed down the hall to her room he looked back at Alex, Jimmy and Bobby and slowly headed towards his mother. He slipped unnoticed down the corridor towards her room and nervously walked to where her room was. Pausing outside the door momentarily he began to wonder what to expect but slowly headed into the room.  
  
When he got his first look at what his mother had been through he began to silently ask why someone would want to hurt her. As he looked at the toll the past four days had taken on her, he felt tears sting his eyes as he at first sat down next to the bed.  
  
"Mom?" he asked quietly.  
  
When she didn't respond he started to get scared and wondered if she hadn't heard him and tried again.  
  
"Mom, it's me." He said a little louder, gently shaking her shoulder.  
  
Again she didn't respond and tears began to slip down his face. He sat on the edge of the bed and said softly into her ear, "Mom, please wake up. You can't leave us. Things are perfect now, please don't go."  
  
He curled up next to her, hoping that somehow she would know he was there and come back to them. He gasped when he put his hand on her cheek, feeling how cold she was from hypothermia. He pulled the blankets up higher around them and began to silently cry on his mother's shoulder, hoping she'd wake up soon.  
  
Several minutes later Alex looked over and saw Joey was gone and asked, "Guys, where'd Joey go?"  
  
Bobby and Jimmy spun around and looked at the now empty chair where Joey had been asleep.  
  
"I think I know," Jimmy replied sadly, heading in the direction of Kim's room.  
  
Alex and Bobby followed Jimmy down the corridor and stood just outside the door. The sight before them broke their heart. It was hard enough for them to come to terms with what had happened to her, they couldn't imagine how hard it must be on Joey until they heard his heartfelt words. They were used to seeing how cruel people could be to one another. They saw it every day at work, the lives of those who are innocent changed forever by one person who doesn't care who they hurt or how.  
  
After taking in a raspy breath, Joey continued speaking softly, not knowing that Alex, Jimmy and Bobby were at the doorway.  
  
His voice began to shake once more as he spoke and he wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes as he looked at his mother and said almost pleadingly, "I don't want to loose you. You fought this so long please don't give up on us. Don't let whoever did this win. I don't know if you can hear me or not but please keep fighting. Please come back to us so we can be a family again."  
  
As they listened to his pleading words, tears fell from their eyes. Alex leaned into Jimmy and silently cried after hearing Joey's pleading words to his mother. He held her gently and let her cry, gently rubbing her back as she leaned into his chest. Tears were falling from his eyes as well hearing his son's heartfelt plea to his mother, giving her the will to carry on. Who knew a child's words could strike such a cord in a moment like this. He glanced over at Bobby who also had tears running down his face from hearing the words Joey had just spoken. Keira could sense something was wrong and began to whimper softly, picking up on the sadness everyone felt. Joey heard her from outside the room and looked over at his father, Bobby and Alex, all standing there with tears glistening in their eyes.  
  
Two days had past and she still hadn't regained consciousness. Doc had told him he could stay with her and his mom had been watching the kids while he stayed by her side. Kim's mother went home to rest, but all she could do was pray that Kim got better soon. She'd stop by each day to see if there was any change or to see if Bobby needed anything since he refused to leave her. She looked much better after they'd worked on getting her rehydrated. Her color had returned almost to normal, there were no signs of cyanosis left, but she was still relatively thin. He sat beside her and said softly, "Please wake up Kimmy. I need you to come back to me. The kids are really scared and miss their mother. We never gave up hope that we'd find you, please come back to us soon"  
  
She'd started to be able to hear what was going on around her, and wanted to open her eyes, but it felt as if her eyes were so heavy there was no way she could possibly open them on her own. She heard his heartfelt plea and ever so slowly her senses began to come back to her. His feather light touch against her skin relaxed her, made her feel safe after the harrowing ordeal she'd been through. He gently held her left hand and softly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and lovingly pressed a tender kiss onto her forehead, hoping that today would be the day that she woke up and came back to him. 


	81. Awake Now

She began to try and breathe on her own but with the ventilator tube in place she couldn't. Panic began to build which elevated her vitals on the monitors. He noticed the change in her vitals and wondered what was wrong.  
  
"Bobby, please help me!" she screamed in her mind as she fought to breathe on her own.  
  
Each time she tried to take a breath she felt as if she were choking from the tube being in her windpipe. Her eyes shot open and she looked around the room, noticing all the machines. The slightest movement of her head caused her to want to cough because the tube would rub her throat stimulating the reflex to cough. Bobby had dozed off momentarily, still lightly grasping her hand in his. He sensed something wasn't right and felt her trembling. He saw the panic and fear in her expression and assumed she'd been trying to breathe on her own.  
  
"Kimmy calm down. You're on a vent to help you breathe. Don't fight it sweetheart just relax." He said quietly hoping to get her to calm down.  
  
After hearing his words she began to settle down, and forced herself to not try and breathe on her own and let the machine do it for her. She heard Bobby's voice once more as he said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go let the nurses and doctor know you're awake. Ok?"  
  
She gently squeezed his hand to let him know she understood what he said and watched him head out.  
  
"How long have I been in here?" she asked herself silently, looking around the room noticing the bag someone had brought for Bobby since he hadn't left her side since she came in.  
  
He found the doctor at the nurse's station going over a chart and let him know that she'd woken up. The doctor headed in to check her over and see how she was doing and Bobby went ahead and called her mom, his mom and the guys at the station to let them know she was awake. The first call he made was to her mom since the kids were over there. She'd just finished giving Keira a bottle and had put her in her swing when she heard the phone ring.  
  
"Joey can you get that for me?" she asked, while fastening Keira into the swing.  
  
He ran for the phone and picked it up and heard Bobby's voice.  
  
"Hey Joey, can I talk to your grandma for a bit?" he asked.  
  
"Sure, lemme take her the phone." Joey replied.  
  
She saw her grandson coming down the hall and said softly, "Who is it?"  
  
"It's Bobby," he replied passing her the phone.  
  
As soon as he heard Kim's mother's voice on the phone he began to tell her about Kim waking up.  
  
"The reason I called is to let you know that Kim is finally awake. She came too about four minutes ago." He said, hearing her mother sigh with relief.  
  
"How is she doing?" she asked, anxious to tell Joey his mother was awake.  
  
"She's still really thin but her coloring is back to normal. She knows she's in the hospital but she can't talk since the ventilator tube is still in." he replied.  
  
"Thank you for calling and letting me know she's awake. I just hope whoever did this to her doesn't pull anything else." She said, looking towards Joey.  
  
"I hope so too. She's extremely lucky she was found when she was. I think her will to fight is what kept her alive. As soon as I hear more from the doctor I'll let you know what he says." Bobby replied before hanging up.  
  
"Ok. I'm going to go tell Joey the good news." She said back.  
  
After finishing up the conversation with her mother he called down to the station because when he called his mother no one answered so he assumed she was out running errands or something. Alex and the guys had been working on one of the engines in the bay when the phone began to ring.  
  
"I'll get it." Alex said, wiping her hands off on a towel and picked up the phone.  
  
Bobby heard her voice and heard the guys talking in the background.  
  
"Hey Alex, let everyone at the house know that Kim just woke up." Bobby said, smiling as he spoke.  
  
"She did! God Bobby that's wonderful! How long ago?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"About five minutes ago. The doctor's in with her right now." He replied.  
  
"I'll go tell the rest of the guys and try to come by after my shift." Alex said in return.  
  
"Sounds good. Gotta run the doctor's coming. See you later." Bobby replied.  
  
"Ok, tell her we all are thinking about her and I'll see you after work." Alex said before hanging up.  
  
"Will do." He replied, hanging up the phone.  
  
"Who was that Alex?" Jimmy asked, coming up behind her.  
  
"Bobby," she replied, as a smile spread across her face.  
  
"Is Kimmy ok?" Jimmy asked, concern appearing on his face.  
  
"She's awake Jimmy!" she replied, unable to keep the excitement from entering her voice.  
  
"She is!" Jimmy exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, she's finally back." Alex said happily as Jimmy hugged her tightly.  
  
"Hey guys Kimmy's awake!" Jimmy called out over Alex's shoulder to everyone working on the engine.  
  
Cheers went up from everyone behind them at the news and for the rest of the day the members of the 55 were in a jubilant mood. As the guys went upstairs for a bit, Alex and Jimmy stayed behind down by the engines.  
  
"You relieved she's finally awake?" Alex asked as Jimmy held her close.  
  
"Yeah. I never thought I'd come this close to loosing her for good. I can't imagine what it would be like without her around, and the thought of Joey without a mother is disturbing." Jimmy replied, tightening his arms around Alex as they sat on the front of one of the engines.  
  
"I'm going to stop by after my shift is up and go see how she's doing, want to come with me?" Alex asked.  
  
"Sure, I'd love to." Jimmy replied, placing a tender kiss on Alex's lips.  
  
Joey had gone into his room to play with his gameboy when his grandmother came in to let him know the good news.  
  
"Joey honey, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah nana." He replied pausing the game.  
  
"Your mom's awake Joey. She just came to today." She said softly, seeing his expression change.  
  
"Is she ok?" Joey asked, feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.  
  
"She will be. It will take some time for her to completely heal but she's going to be ok. As soon as Bobby lets me know what the doctor says I'll take you and your sister to see her." She said, seeing the look of relief on her grandson's face.  
  
"Thanks," he said softly, a small smile playing across his face, knowing that his mother was going to be all right.  
  
The doctor decided to go ahead and remove the ventilator tube since she was trying to breathe on her own. After the tube had been removed she coughed rather hard for a few minutes. They gave her ice to help soothe her throat, but at first it burned a bit since she hadn't taken anything in by mouth. After several minutes the doctor left, but had oxygen standing by incase she would need it since she'd just come off the ventilator. She was just happy to be able to breathe on her own once more. Forcing yourself not to breathe when you're on the machine is a very hard task, one that most people do not succeed at.  
  
After the doctor left, he took a seat beside her, anxious to finally be able to talk to her after everything that's happened.  
  
"Thank god you came back." He said softly, gently hugging her.  
  
In a voice no louder than a whisper she replied, "I shouldn't have went after the boy that day."  
  
"You couldn't have known what was going to happen. None of us could." Bobby responded gently, seeing tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"But still, all the pain I caused you all by doing that. You don't know how much it hurt me to think what must have been going through your head, knowing that when those floors came down that you thought I was still in there." She replied, her voice getting raspier by the minute.  
  
He saw several tears slip down her face and gently brushed them away from her face with his thumb and said, "Ssssh, rest your voice sweetheart. We've got a lot to talk about but for now just relax."  
  
She curled up on her side facing him, thinking about the torment and torture it was to hear him Alex and Jimmy looking for her and being so close, but unable to let them know she was there. She felt more tears threatening to fall but held them back and closed her eyes briefly. He gently held her hand in his and whispered into her ear, "Apenas descanso Kimmy. Estaré aquí cuando usted se despierta, no duda jamás eso." {Just rest Kimmy. I'll be here when you wake up, don't ever doubt that.}  
  
He noticed the rhythm of her breathing change as she drifted off to sleep. He gently brushed her hair back and placed a tender kiss on her cheek and sat beside her as she slept. It felt as if a huge burden of worry had been lifted from him when she came back to him. He thought back to the words Joey had said to her the day she'd been found. He gently stroked the top of her hand with his fingers as she slept, relieved to finally have her back. She'd slept for about four hours and woke back up feeling him still grasping her hand. He'd laid his head down on the bed and dozed off briefly. She took her right hand and gently placed it on his cheek as he slept, figuring he hadn't gotten much sleep while she'd been unconscious. He didn't even move when she placed her hand on his cheek. She smiled to herself and relaxed and let him rest.  
  
He slept for about two hours before he was awakened by the sound of an alarm on a machine. He awoke slightly panicked, afraid something might have happened to Kim but saw she was fine. He'd looked at the monitors she was hooked up to and saw nothing abnormal and assumed the alarm had come from one of the other rooms close by. She'd been taking in some ice chips to help sooth her sore throat when she noticed him wake up.  
  
"Finally decide to wake up?" she said with a smile, her voice quite a bit stronger than it had been earlier.  
  
"Very funny Sleeping Beauty." He smirked in response.  
  
"How are Joey and Keira doing?" she asked.  
  
"Joey's been worried sick about you, along with the rest of us. It looks like Keira's first tooth should be coming in soon. She's been a bit temperamental where you haven't been around so she will probably be thrilled to death to see you." he replied.  
  
"Is the kid from the fire ok?" she said curiously.  
  
"He's fine, he had some minor smoke inhalation but other than that he was just fine." Bobby said in response.  
  
He noticed her expression change and figured she was thinking about something.  
  
"You ok?" he asked concerned.  
  
She nodded her head in response and replied, "Yeah, just trying to avoid thinking of what happened."  
  
"I don't think I'd been that petrified since the night of that explosion. When I heard the message that someone associated with whoever took you left on the answering machine the night after I stopped to check on your mom and the kids after I'd gotten checked over at Mercy, I thought that everything was going to come crashing down around me." He said softly.  
  
"You weren't hurt that evening were you?" Kim asked worriedly.  
  
"No. I took in too much smoke. Alex and Jimmy told me not to go in but I didn't listen to them, my primary focus was getting to you. I found the boy in your jacket but he didn't know what had happened to you, when Alex appeared. She tried to get me out of there but I wouldn't listen. I gave her the boy and kept looking for you, despite the fact several floors above us it was nothing short of a raging inferno. After Alex had taken the kid down to Doc and Carlos she came back for me but I wasn't about ready to leave. The only reason I finally left was because of the violent coughing spell I started to have when she spun me around to tell me that we were leaving." Bobby said, seeing the look of guilt cross Kim's face.  
  
Kim knew that Bobby could have been hurt much worse, or possibly even killed if Alex hadn't gotten him out of there.  
  
"This is all my fault, I shouldn't have went in there in the first place." She replied quietly, looking away from him.  
  
"None of this is your fault. You couldn't have foreseen what was going to happen. Had whoever that was that took you not of done so, you would have gotten that boy out and everything would have been just fine." He said gently, turning her head back towards him.  
  
"But if Alex hadn't have gotten you out of there, this could have had a different ending. I could be sitting here having just lost one of the most important people in my life all because of a foolish decision." She weakly replied, forcing back the onslaught of tears at the thought of him not being there.  
  
He saw her forcing back the tears and knew she probably wouldn't stop blaming herself for what happened. Ever so gently, he pulled her into a hug as the tears began to fall from her eyes.  
  
"Come on Kimmy, don't beat yourself up over this. I'll never leave you. Do you really think I'd miss seeing our little girl grow up to be an amazing woman just like her mother?" he asked. 


	82. Never Comes the Day

A/N- I'm going to be on vacation from July 19th to the 26th so I won't be updating again until Monday the 28th. So if you don't see any updates till then, that's why. See ya when I get back from the beach!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She pushed the thoughts of what had happened to him out of her mind and tried not to dwell on that thought. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like if something had happened to him when he'd tried to get to her. His voice cut through her thoughts and pulled her attention back to him.

"I'm going to go get something to eat. Will you be ok while I'm gone?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'll take a nap or something till you get back." She replied, getting ready to lay back down.

"Ok. I shouldn't be gone too long." Bobby said in response, gently kissing her on the forehead.

Kim nodded her head in response and watched him leave and got ready to take a nap while she was alone. About fifteen minutes after she'd fallen asleep, two individuals entered her room silently, seeing she was resting quietly. They didn't go past the nurse's station, they came through the stairwell at the other end of the hall so as few people as possible would see them. They moved quietly past the other rooms and slipped into Kim's room undetected and closed the door. Marc stood on the right side of the bed and Tony headed around the left side. At the same time they both clamp a hand on her wrists and simultaneously held a blindfold over her eyes and Tony put his free hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

As soon as she felt pressure on her wrists she began to panic, not knowing what was going on. She tried to call out or scream but with the massive hand over her mouth she couldn't emit anything audible. Terror gripped her when she recognized the voice that spoke a short time later as the voice registered with her brain, causing her to flash back to her harrowing four day ordeal that landed her in the hospital in the first place.

"Nothing and no one can stop us, you know. You might as well face it, you will be ours regardless." The voice growled menacingly; "You're lucky you got out of there in the first place. Next time you won't be so fortunate! You'll see soon enough that things will change in our favor and you'll be powerless to stop us!"

Sheer hysteria gripped her as she listened to his chilling threat and felt all the same feelings that she'd experienced come back when she'd been held against her will by Craig. Her breathing was so elevated she eventually starting getting dizzy from the loss of carbon dioxide where she was exhaling faster than she could bring in oxygen to counter its effects. When her head started swimming and she got light headed she kept seeing the images of the past four days flashing through her head and began to stop struggling when she felt a rag over her nose and mouth, sending her reeling into darkness. When she quit struggling against them they let her go and quickly left her room. Tony threw the now empty bottle into the trashcan by the door along with the rag and headed towards the stairwell at the end of the hall. 

Things were slow for the firefighters so Jimmy was able to slip out for a bit and go visit Kim since she was awake. Alex and Carlos were just heading out of the ER when they saw him coming in.

"You going to see Kim?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, things were slow so Lieu let me leave for a bit to see how she was doing." He replied, watching Carlos head over to the rig.

"As soon as we finish up down here I'll come up before we leave." Alex said, getting started on the run sheet.

Jimmy nodded his head in response and moved towards the elevators. He was anxious to talk to her after everything that she'd been through but was just relieved that she was going to be ok. He stepped off the elevator on the ICU unit and headed down the corridor to her room. When he walked in it appeared that she was asleep, so he sat down beside her bed in the chair and watched her, not wanting to disturb her. Bobby had just finished up eating in the cafeteria in the basement of the hospital and was waiting on an elevator to take him back to the floor that Kim was on. 

Jimmy heard an alarm sound on a machine but thought it was in a room nearby since he was near the door of her room. She was still hooked to all of the machine's she'd been on when she came up to ICU with the exception of the vent. He looked at one of the monitors and watched the numbers as they began to decrease. Her blood pressure was dropping very quickly and in a matter of minutes she quit breathing because of the arrhythmia that was brought about by the frenzy she worked herself into when Marc and Tony had been there. He looked at the monitors once more and put his hand near her mouth and noticed she wasn't breathing and started CPR on her. As he checked to see if she'd begun breathing on her own, he said fretfully, "Don't do this to me Kimmy!"

One of the nurses noticed the change in her vitals at the nurse's station and headed towards Kim's room to make sure she was ok. Jimmy saw one of the nurses appear in the room and said frantically, "She just quit breathing and I've been doing CPR on her, trying to get her to start breathing on her own again."

The nurse activated the call light to get the attention of another nurse while she grabbed the ambu bag so Jimmy could focus on chest compressions. When another nurse answered, the nurse told her to call for the code team and squeezed the ambu bag after Jimmy had done five compressions and repeated the measure, checking for a pulse on the side of her neck until till the team arrived to take over. Once the code team had gotten to the floor Jimmy stood out in the hall and watched as they worked on bringing her back. He stood there unable to believe what he was seeing happening, watching the efforts being done to revive her.

As the elevator doors opened in the basement, he heard the call for the code team to respond to ICU and prayed that nothing had happened to Kim while he was gone. A gnawing feeling of nervousness coursed through him as he waited for the elevator to take him to the ICU unit. When he finally got there he saw no one until he headed down the corridor to Kim's room and saw the flurry of activity and Jimmy standing in the hallway, watching helplessly what was going on.

Tension was high as both Jimmy and Bobby stood in the hallway watching what was being done. Jimmy was so focused on watching what was going on that he didn't even notice Bobby had come back until he heard him say in a worried manner, "Por favor no haga este Kimmy. Usted ha obtenido para regresar. Yo no lo puedo aflojar otra vez." {Please don't do this Kimmy. You've got to come back. I can't loose you again.}

As soon as Jimmy heard his words, he turned to look over on his left side and saw him standing alongside him, watching the situations unfolding before them with concern written across his features. Sure Bobby has revived many people like this at work, shocking and pushing epi and shocking them again. But when you're helpless to watch someone you love and care about and work with every day being the one who's on the receiving end of it, puts things in a whole new perspective for anyone.

When the crash cart arrived, they set up the defibrillator, and got it warmed up. The nurse who'd been taking care of Kim relayed information about her vitals, lab results and other pertinent info to the team so the appropriate decisions could be made on drugs to be used if it came to using them. The monitor showed she was in v fib (ventricular fibrillation) and the chief physician on hand ordered the defibrillator to be charged at 200. Once it was ready the physician placed one of the paddles slightly below her collarbone on the right side and the other at the apex of her heart which is about where the fourth and fifth ribs are. They heard someone yell "Clear!" and everyone stopped what they were doing and didn't touch her while the shock was administered. She didn't respond so they charged to 300 and shocked her once more as Jimmy and Bobby watched helplessly from the hall at the efforts used to bring her back.

300j wasn't enough so the machine was charged to 360j to see if that would get her back which yielded an unresponsive result. One of the nurses started another IV line and ran a bag of normal saline wide open. CPR was still being done while blood was being drawn to be taken to the lab for analysis on electrolytes and a CBC (complete blood count). An ABG (arterial blood gas) was drawn from the femoral artery in her right leg by the physician on hand and sent down to be analyzed as well. The decision was made to reintubate her and CPR was continued till the endotracheal tube was in place and she was hooked back up to the vent. The nursing supervisor on the floor was charting what all was being done during the code along with the times that everything was happening at. One of the nurses administered 1 mg of Epinephrine (a.k.a. epi) through the IV as the physician had instructed before they shocked her once more at 360 to see if the epi had any effect when they administered the shock again. 

Alex had finished up with Carlos and headed up to see what was going on before she left to head back to the station. When she arrived on the ICU unit it was almost a ghost town so to speak until she reached the top of the corridor where Kim's room was and saw that almost all of the personnel on the floor congregated at her room working on reviving her. She stood unable to move as she watched what was going on and noticed the uneased body language of both Bobby and Jimmy as they watched in vain at what was going on before them. She never imagined she'd be seeing the same stuff done to her best friend that they do on patients in the bus all the time when the arrest like that. As she watched from the top of the hall she spoke silently before she moved towards where Jimmy and Bobby were.

"Come on Kim don't do this. You can beat this please. I doubt Bobby could take it if he lost you again. And the kids would be devastated, Joey especially. You've got to beat this, for their sake. Don't make me and Jimmy be the bearers of bad news this evening please." She pleaded silently as she stood beside Bobby and Jimmy.

She saw the fear in Bobby's eyes as he watched what was going on before him. He felt Alex put her hand in his and he saw the concern showing in her blue eyes as the three of them waited for an answer, a revelation. Jimmy slipped his right arm around Alex's waist and the three stood motionless as the resuscitation attempts continued. Bobby closed his eyes momentarily and began to speak silently hoping things would be ok.

"Yo no lo puedo aflojar Kimmy, no ahora. Por favor no me atormente como esto, yo no debo haber dejado más temprano. Soy arrepentido. Yo nunca supe el día que comencé en el parque de bomberos yo encontraría a la una mujer que haría eventualmente a mi esposa. Yo no puedo pararme el pensó de usted no está aquí. Dudo que el dolor se iría jamás si yo lo perdí."

{I can't loose you Kimmy, not now. Please don't torture me like this, I shouldn't have left earlier. I'm sorry. I never knew the day I started at the firehouse I'd meet the one woman who I would eventually make my wife. I can't stand the thought of you not being here. I doubt the pain would ever go away if I lost you.}

He opened his eyes and watched what was going on as a tear slid down his cheek as he said once more silently, "Usted ha dado a mí algunos de las cosas más preciosas en la vida. Usted ha sido una esposa asombrosa y dado mí una hija hermosa, que hace un día crece para ser como fuerte y tan hermoso como usted. Usted es lo que me mantiene ir fuerte. Yo no lo puedo aflojar esta noche, no después que yo acabo de obtener que usted apoya."

{You've given unto me some of the most precious things in life. You've been an amazing wife and given me a beautiful daughter, who will one day grow up to be as strong and as beautiful as you. You're what keeps me going strong. I can't loose you tonight, not after I just got you back.}

After the shock was administered everyone waited for the analysis of her heart rhythm to see if it had any effect.

Spanish Translations

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Por favor no haga este Kimmy. Usted ha obtenido para regresar. Yo no lo puedo aflojar otra vez.

Please don't do this Kimmy. You've got to come back. I can't loose you again.

~~~

Yo no lo puedo aflojar Kimmy, no ahora. Por favor no me atormente como esto, yo no debo haber dejado más temprano. Soy arrepentido. Yo nunca supe el día que comencé en el parque de bomberos yo encontraría a la una mujer que haría eventualmente a mi esposa. Yo no puedo pararme el pensó de usted no está aquí. Dudo que el dolor se iría jamás si yo lo perdí.

I can't loose you Kimmy, not now. Please don't torture me like this, I shouldn't have left earlier. I'm sorry. I never knew the day I started at the firehouse I'd meet the one woman who I would eventually make my wife. I can't stand the thought of you not being here. I doubt the pain would ever go away if I lost you.

~~~

Usted ha dado a mí algunos de las cosas más preciosas en la vida. Usted ha sido una esposa asombrosa y dado mí una hija hermosa, que hace un día crece para ser como fuerte y tan hermoso como usted. Usted es lo que me mantiene ir fuerte. Yo no lo puedo aflojar esta noche, no después que yo acabo de obtener que usted apoya.

You've given unto me some of the most precious things in life. You've been an amazing wife and given me a beautiful daughter, who will one day grow up to be as strong and as beautiful as you. You're what keeps me going strong. I can't loose you tonight, not after I just got you back.


	83. Slip Up

After Marc and Tony slipped from her room unnoticed, they retreated down the stairs and out of the hospital they quickly headed to their car to head back to the hideout Craig had found and told them to meet at after they'd done his dirty work. They drove out of the city and waited till darkness fell before they headed to meet Craig. The two stopped a couple miles outside where their hideout was and waited and hung out for a bit and once darkness fell two hours later, they headed on to where they knew that Craig was waiting on them.  
  
Craig sat anxiously waiting for them to return and already had begun to plan the final scheme that would be put into motion soon. He'd decided to hold off and wait to get the ball rolling on the 'big' plan in early to mid January, just to toy with them to make them think that he might actually be leaving them alone. It was close to 9:30 at night when Craig heard the door open and knew Marc and Tony were back and an evil smile spread across his face as they came in.  
  
"Well, how'd it go?" he asked anxiously, anticipating how things turned out.  
  
"Just as expected. When we went in she was asleep so she didn't even see us coming so it was a total surprise to her that we were there." Marc replied.  
  
"It was obvious she hasn't forgotten us either." Tony added smugly.  
  
"She didn't see you right?" Craig asked.  
  
"No, when we went in she was asleep and we got a blindfold over her eyes and Tony clamped a hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream for help. We also held her down so she couldn't struggle against us either." Marc replied.  
  
"What about when you left, did she see you then?" Craig questioned.  
  
"No. We used the remainder of the drugs in the bottle to knock her out before we left." Tony replied.  
  
"Very good work boys." Craig said with a wicked grin on his face; "What about the bottle and rag, have you disposed of it already?"  
  
"Yeah, we got rid of it when we left." Tony replied, wondering why Craig was wondering about how they'd disposed of it.  
  
"You didn't leave it in a trashcan in her room did you?" Craig asked, looking directly at Tony, seeing him getting a little nervous.  
  
He thought for a second and replied, "Uh, yeah I think I did use the trashcan in the room. The one closest to the door, not the one closest to her bed."  
  
"You damn fool!" Craig yelled; "Do you realize that if someone finds that they could trace it back to us!"  
  
"Sorry, it won't happen again." Tony said, not wanting to piss Craig off any further.  
  
"You could get our asses locked up for that!! What the hell were you thinking? Did you leave your damn licenses and social security numbers out in plain sight too?!" Craig roared.  
  
Tony and Marc cringed at the tongue-lashing and knew they'd screwed up royally, even though it was inadvertent and accidental. They hadn't thought about someone finding the rag and bottle and now saw what harm it could do to their plans.  
  
"You're damn right it won't happen again! Because if you screw up once more, just once and you're gone!" Craig thundered his face a deep shade of red from anger; "Get out of here. Both of you!"  
  
The two left hastily and sped away into the night towards Craig's apartment, figuring that he wouldn't be coming there that night. They both were relieved that Craig hadn't taken out his wrath on them for the slip up and planned to stay away for a bit till he cooled off.  
  
"I didn't mean to put that stuff in the trashcan in her room, it was just a convenient spot and I didn't think that it would be noticeable." Tony said as they drove into the city.  
  
"I know man. Let's go get some beers and take them back to the apartment. I doubt he'll be coming by tonight so it will be just me and you." Marc suggested.  
  
"Sounds good to me." Tony replied as they stopped at a local liquor store.  
  
Marc waited in the car after giving Tony some money. Several minutes later he came out carrying a bag with a case of Bacardi Silver, Smirnoff Ice, and Black Label Captain Morgan Rum.  
  
"Just like old times in California." Marc said as they drove back to Craig's apartment.  
  
"Yep." Tony replied as they pulled up in front of the complex and headed on up.  
  
The three stood in the hallway watching the monitor along with the rest of the team, hoping they'd see a rhythm start. All of a sudden the beep of the heart monitor returned and everyone in the hall breathed a huge sigh of relief. They heard one of the nurses say that she was in sinus tach (a.k.a. sinus tachycardia is a heart that beats in excess of 100 beats a minute). The doctor ordered 6 mg of Adenosine to be rapidly introduced via IV to try and get her heart rate down to a regular level. Within minutes her heart rate dropped to a normal level and she was gradually stabilizing. As the team began to leave after having successfully brought her back, the decision was made to sedate her for the rest of the evening to keep her calm and to prevent her heart rate from skyrocketing again. Once the intravenous Diprivan solution was hung and started by an anesthesiologist, the doctor headed out to speak with Bobby about how she was doing since she was stable.  
  
"We managed to get her back and get her stabilized and bring her heart rate down after giving her a dose of Adenosine. We had to put her back on the vent though and to keep her calm it'd be best to keep her sedated overnight. According to the vitals that have been recorded throughout the day, at one point they seemed to shoot up for no apparent reason so when she comes off sedation maybe we can find out what caused the jump. Shortly after her vitals skyrocketed she bottomed out, which must have been when you found her." The chief physician said, looking to Jimmy.  
  
"We won't take her directly off the vent once the sedation is discontinued though. One of the possible side effects from the Diprivan is hypoxia (reduction of oxygen supply to the tissues below physiological levels, despite adequate perfusion by the blood.). So once we are sure she won't have any trouble breathing on her own once she comes out of sedation we'll take her off the vent." The doctor concluded in saying.  
  
Jimmy and Alex went in one by one to see her for a bit before they had to leave. While they were there, Bobby went ahead and called her mother to let her know what had happened since she'd planned on bringing the kids by to see her since she'd woken up. Joey heard the phone ringing and ran for it since his grandmother was changing Keira.  
  
"Hey Joey, is your grandma around?" Bobby asked.  
  
"She's in with Keira. How's mom doing?" Joey said anxiously.  
  
"She's fine now. We had a bit of a scare earlier but she'll be ok." Bobby replied.  
  
"What happened?" Joey asked hesitantly.  
  
"Something happened to cause her vitals to shoot up and when your dad went in to see her, she bottomed out and we almost lost her. We got her back though so tomorrow we can find out what happened." He said gently.  
  
"Are you sure she's ok?" Joey asked worriedly.  
  
"She's fine. The doctor put her back on the machine to help her breathe and they're going to keep her sedated till tomorrow." He replied.  
  
While Joey was talking to Bobby, Kim's mother came out carrying Keira and saw her grandson on the phone.  
  
"Who are you talking to sweetheart?" she asked softly.  
  
Joey mouthed the word Bobby as his grandmother sat down on the couch beside him, resting Keira in her lap.  
  
Joey turned his attention back to the phone and said, "Grandma just came in so I'll let you talk to her." and passed the phone over to her and played with his sister.  
  
Bobby began to explain to Kim's mother what had happened and for a few minutes she couldn't say anything because she honestly didn't know what she could say.  
  
He heard the silence over the phone as everything soaked in that he'd just told her and said, "Don't worry because we got her back. They had to put her back on the vent but she's ok now. They're going to keep her sedated overnight to keep her calm and make sure her vitals remain stable."  
  
"Do they know what caused her to bottom out so suddenly?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"We won't know till they bring her out of sedation tomorrow and we get a chance to talk to her. The only thing is though after she comes to they can't take her directly off the vent because the stuff she's on has the potential side effect of not profusing oxygen adequately." He said in response.  
  
"Could there be any permanent damage from where she bottomed out?" she questioned nervously.  
  
"The doctor didn't mention any, but I think she bottomed out when Jimmy was with her so he started CPR almost immediately so she shouldn't have suffered any longstanding effects due to lack of oxygen." Bobby replied.  
  
"I'll bring the kids by tomorrow after she comes out of sedation. It would probably be best that way if she can hear what's going on around her she won't get herself worked up." Her mother said in reply.  
  
"Ok, I gotta run, Jimmy and Alex are getting ready to leave and I'm gonna go in and see her and stay here overnight probably." Bobby replied, seeing the two of them leaving her room.  
  
"Take care and I'll see you tomorrow when I bring the kids down." Her mother said, watching Joey playing with Keira.  
  
Jimmy and Alex headed towards where Bobby was and noticed him moving in their direction.  
  
"We'll tell everyone back at the house what happened. If you need anything don't hesitate to call us." Alex said.  
  
"Ok, see you all later." Bobby replied, heading back towards her room.  
  
Carlos was waiting in the bus on Alex to come down from the ICU, and was relieved when he finally saw her come out with Jimmy.  
  
"What took you so long?" Carlos asked slightly annoyed.  
  
"Don't start with me Carlos, I'm not in the mood to put up with your immature shenanigans!" Alex said, turning to speak with Jimmy for a minute.  
  
As she turned her back to Carlos she said to Jimmy, "You want a ride back to the station?"  
  
"That ok with him?" he asked, looking at the peeved look on Carlos' face.  
  
"Get in, he'll get over it." Alex replied climbing into the passenger seat.  
  
Jimmy climbed into the back of the bus and the three of them headed back to the station, Carlos not saying anything and Jimmy and Alex talking back and forth during the trip back to the house. Alex could see the look of annoyance on Carlos' face but carried on with her conversation she was having with Jimmy. When they pulled up at the station and headed in all the guys were asking about how Kim was doing.  
  
"How's Kimmy doing." D.K asked.  
  
"She had a bit of a setback earlier but will be fine." Jimmy replied, seeing the shocked faces of the group around him.  
  
"What happened!" Lombardo asked nervously.  
  
"Her vitals skyrocketed at one point and when I went in to see how she was doing, she bottomed out and quit breathing. We got her back but they put her back on the vent and are keeping her sedated till tomorrow." Jimmy said, taking in the startled expressions of everyone in the room. 


	84. Finally

All of the firefighters in the room couldn't believe what they'd just heard even Carlos was shocked.  
  
"Who found her?" Walsh asked.  
  
"I did. I guess Bobby went to go get something to eat while she was asleep and when I came in, it looked like she was resting peacefully. I heard an alarm go off but I was close to the door so I thought it was from one of the rooms close to hers. I looked at one of the monitors and saw numbers dropping quickly and put my hand in front of her face and noticed she wasn't breathing." He replied.  
  
"She's going to be ok right?" D.K asked.  
  
"From what the doctor said, she should be ok. Once they bring her out of sedation they can't take her directly off the vent though because of a potential side effect the stuff that induces sedation can cause. So once they are sure she won't have any problems breathing on her own once she's brought out of it we can figure out what happened." Jimmy said in response.  
  
"They don't know what caused her vitals to shoot up that high right?" Lombardo asked.  
  
"Right. We won't know till we get a chance to talk to her once they take her off the vent." He replied.  
  
"Wait a minute. We could talk to her before she comes off the vent, but granted she won't be able to verbalize a response because of the tube, but she could write it down like on a dry erase board or a piece of paper or something." Alex said quickly.  
  
"Taylor's right." Walsh said in agreement.  
  
"Man why didn't I think of that?" Jimmy asked himself quietly.  
  
The rest of the shift was somewhat steady but as the night wore on things slowed down. Alex went through her locker and found a small dry erase board and markers that she normally used to write reminders on, and took it out of her locker and grabbed some of the markers that go with it and headed back downstairs.  
  
"Hey boys look what I found." Alex said.  
  
"Lemme guess Alex, you found that in your locker upstairs that holds everything but the kitchen sink right?" Walsh snided with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"Yes I did thank you very much. And you're lucky I found this because we couldn't go out and buy one at this hour." She replied grinning.  
  
Jimmy laughed at what Alex had said and said mockingly, "Someone here just happens to take the motto 'Always be prepared' to a whole new level."  
  
Meanwhile back at the hospital, Bobby sat beside her bed checking the monitors of the machines she was hooked to periodically. Making sure nothing abnormal was going on. He blamed himself for leaving, because even though they didn't know what caused her vitals to shoot up like that, maybe there was something he could have done to keep it from happening. Whatever had caused it though, he wasn't going to leave her now and risk anything else happening while he was gone. She looked so peaceful and at ease at that moment, he wondered what it could have been that caused her vitals to shoot up so high.  
  
"What happened Kimmy? What happened while I was gone that caused all this to happen?" he asked softly before falling asleep in the chair beside her bed.  
  
The nurse that was taking care of her came in periodically to check on her to make sure everything was ok after she'd coded and found Bobby asleep. Since it was kind of cool that evening on the floor she went and got a blanket from the linen room and brought it in and put it over him, since she knew he wasn't going to leave. He'd been here day and night since she'd been brought up from the ER.  
  
That evening after Alex's shift was over she and Jimmy ran by Mercy and went to take the dry erase board up to Kim's room. The two walked in quietly and found them both asleep and wrote a quick message on a piece of paper and put it on top of the board and placed it on the bedside table and left as quietly as they had came, not disturbing Bobby. The took a final glance at Kim before they'd left and hoped nothing else happened throughout the night because she'd been through enough already. As they got back outside and headed home Alex asked, "I wonder what time they are going to take her off sedation."  
  
"I don't know, but I imagine Bobby would call us to let everyone know when she comes out of it." Jimmy replied, wondering the same thing Alex had just asked.  
  
She nodded her head in response and looked out at the busy streets of the city as they drove, hoping no other incidents happened overnight.  
  
The next morning Bobby woke up around 11:30 and found a blanket over him.  
  
"How on earth could I have fallen asleep? Not only are hospital chairs uncomfortable as hell, something could have happened through out the night and I wouldn't have known." He said silently.  
  
He looked at the monitors and noticed that everything was fine, that nothing had happened to her over night. Shift change for the nurses came at 7 am. The nurse who was going to be taking care Kim that day was speaking with the nurse who'd had her over night and was getting details from her when she mentioned that Bobby had been there with her since she'd been admitted from the ER. The woman was shocked, but admired his devotion to make sure she was going to be ok, especially after watching what was done to her when they tried to bring her back out of the code.  
  
He got up and stretched for a bit and folded the blanket and placed it on the chair he'd just gotten up from when he noticed the dry erase board on the table. Picking it up, he read the message written on the slip of paper that Alex had left and smiled. He heard a knock at the door and saw one of the nurse's step into the room, noticing there must have been a shift change because he hadn't seen this particular nurse before.  
  
"Good morning. My name is Hailey and I'll be taking of your wife for the day." The young woman said politely. "If there is anything that you or your wife need let me know."  
  
"Thank you," he replied quietly; "Has there been any word on when they are going to bring her out of sedation?"  
  
"I'll check with Dr. Coniam and let you know." Hailey replied before leaving the room.  
  
Bobby nodded his head in response and turned his attention back to Kim after she'd gone.  
  
Later that afternoon Alex and Jimmy stopped by to see how Bobby had come through the events of the evening before and to see if there was any idea on what time she was coming out of sedation. Hailey had returned thirty minutes after she'd left and let Bobby know that she should be coming out of sedation around 4 or 5 that evening and they'd probably take her off the vent a couple of hours after depending on if she has any side effects from the Diprivan. When they arrived, the found Bobby sitting beside her bed like they had found him the night before only this time he was awake not asleep.  
  
"Hey," Alex called out quietly as she and Jimmy entered the room.  
  
"What are you two up to?" Bobby asked, as the two made their way towards him.  
  
"Thought we'd drop by before we go into work." Alex replied; "Any word on when Kim's coming out of sedation?"  
  
"One of the nurses checked and it looks like she'll come out of it around 4 or 5. Then a couple of hours later she'll probably come off the vent." He said in response.  
  
"Keep us updated on what all happens, because it looks like I'm with him for the afternoon." Alex replied, smirking at Jimmy over her shoulder.  
  
"Will do." Bobby replied laughing at the look Jimmy shot at Alex after her comment; "Thanks for the board, it will come in handy pretty soon."  
  
"No problem, you two can put it to more use than I can. It was just sitting in my locker collecting dust." Alex said grinning.  
  
"See you later." They both said as they left to head to the station for work.  
  
"Later," Bobby replied, watching the two as they left the room.  
  
Around 4:30 that afternoon Dr. Coniam came into the room with one of the anesthesiologists, Hailey coming in a short time later after the two had arrived. The anesthesiologist began to gradually decrease the amount of Diprivan going through the IV because of the rapid clearance rate from the body she would come out of the sedation gradually. After several minutes they got to the point to where they'd discontinued the solution and went ahead and removed the IV from her hand where the solution was going in. Bobby was gently holding her hand, watching for any signs that she was coming to when he heard the doctor begin to speak.  
  
"Kim. This is Dr. Coniam, if you can hear me squeeze Bobby's hand once." The doctor said in a normal tone of voice, checking her level of consciousness as she came out of sedation.  
  
She heard voices surrounding her but couldn't open her eyes; they felt too heavy to open at the moment. She felt someone gently grasping her hand and comprehended what someone had said and did as they had asked. Bobby felt her hand squeeze his faintly and he said, "She just responded faintly to wait you told her."  
  
"We'll try again in a few minutes to see if her reaction is any stronger." Dr. Coniam said quietly.  
  
About five minutes later he said, "Kim, if you can hear me squeeze Bobby's hand again."  
  
Her response was much stronger this time and within minutes her eyes opened and she peered around the room, slightly panicked that the she couldn't breathe again.  
  
"Relájese a novio. Usted tuvo que ser vuelto a poner en el ventilador para ayudarlo a respirar. No lo luche, usted lo se quitará pronto." Bobby said gently, brushing a strand of her hair back out of her face. {Relax sweetheart. You had to be put back on the ventilator to help you breathe. Don't fight it, you'll be taken off it soon.}  
  
She closed her eyes briefly, fighting the feelings of nausea that she'd began feeling as well as some uncomfortable abdominal cramps and a mild headache. She began to have feeling in her arms and legs as the continued effects of the sedation wore off.  
  
The doctor saw the dry erase board and told Bobby to put it near her and get one of the markers for it and said to Kim, "Can you write down on the dry erase board Bobby is going to put by your hand what you are feeling right now?"  
  
Bobby watched what she wrote on the board and read it aloud to Dr. Coniam.  
  
"She's having feelings of nausea, abdominal cramps and a headache." He said quietly.  
  
"Those are just temporary side effects of the Diprivan we gave you. They should subside momentarily. Other than that do you feel ok?" The doctor asked.  
  
She tried to nod her head that she felt fine but felt the tube hit the back of her throat, making her want to cough so she wrote the word 'feel ok' on the board.  
  
"We'll leave you alone for a bit, but we'll be back in a couple of hours to take you off the vent." Dr. Coniam said before he and the rest of the crew that had been present when she came out of sedation left, leaving Bobby the only one with her.  
  
"What happened yesterday Kimmy?" Bobby asked gently.  
  
He watched what she wrote on the board and read what she'd put on it.  
  
'They were back'  
  
Bobby looked at what she'd written and said slightly confused; "Who was back sweetheart?" and watched her write below what she'd written before.  
  
'Kidnappers'  
  
"How many were here yesterday?" he asked gently, feeling anger building and nervousness at her response.  
  
'2'  
  
"Was Craig one of them?" he asked curiously.  
  
'no'  
  
He noticed her shivering a bit and said, "Do you feel ok?" and watched what she wrote.  
  
'Cold and tired'  
  
"Do you want another blanket?" he asked.  
  
'yes'  
  
He got the blanket off the back of the chair and put it over her and said gently, "You need to stay awake sweetheart. It's probably another side effect of the medication but you been sleeping since yesterday afternoon."  
  
'Joey and Keira?'  
  
"They're fine. Joey was frightened to hear what had happened because your mom was going to bring them down after I called and told them you were awake. Keira's started to settle down a bit even though I would imagine her first tooth should be coming in any day now." He said quietly.  
  
Spanish Translations  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Relájese a novio. Usted tuvo que ser vuelto a poner en el ventilador para ayudarlo a respirar. No lo luche, usted lo se quitará pronto.  
  
Relax sweetheart. You had to be put back on the ventilator to help you breathe. Don't fight it, you'll be taken off it soon. 


	85. Recollection

That afternoon things were rather busy at work. Alex had told the guys that Kim was coming out of sedation between 4 and 5 that evening. But with things being as busy as they were they really hadn't had time to sit down and talk about it or call to see how she'd come out of it so far. Finally on a lull in between calls they were able to sit around and talk.

"I wonder if they brought Kim out of sedation yet." D.K questioned as they sat around the kitchen table of the firehouse.

Alex looked at her watch and noticed it was about 7:15 and replied, "She was supposed to come out of it around 4 or 5. So I imagine she's probably waiting to be taken off the vent."

"I wonder how she came out of it." Lombardo asked.

"Hopefully ok. Her and Bobby have been through enough without all this happening." Jimmy replied. 

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and continued talking as they waited for another call to come through.

Around 7:40 that evening, Dr. Coniam came back in to take her off the vent since she'd showed no signs of hypoxia after coming out of sedation. She saw out of the corner of her eye the doctor coming through the door and knew she was coming off the vent. She dreaded the feeling and coughing the removal of the tube caused but she wanted to breathe on her own and talk and would tolerate it. 

"Do you remember how this was done before?" the doctor asked before beginning the extubation of the vent tube.

Kim wrote the word 'yes' on the board and got ready to have the tube removed from her windpipe. She heard Dr. Coniam giving her instructions and felt him begin to remove the tube once she was ready. As soon as the tube was out of her windpipe she began to cough rather hard for a few minutes and it felt as if her throat was rather sore and a bit raw after having been on the vent again. After she'd eased up on the coughing she took a few small sips of water to try and make her throat feel a bit better.

"Are you feeling ok?" Dr. Coniam asked after the procedure was complete.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She replied in a hoarse whisper.

After he'd left she continued to take in fluids to rehydrate her parched mouth after having the vent tube removed. Five minutes later she was able to speak a bit stronger but her voice was still a bit raspy after just having had the tube removed from her windpipe. Once her voice was a bit stronger after having taken in some fluids her voice was almost back to normal.

"What happened yesterday when I left?" Bobby asked.

"After you'd gone I'd laid down for a short nap. About fifteen minutes later, next thing I know there are two people holding my wrists down and one person is holding something over my eyes so I can't see and a massive hand being clamped over my mouth, preventing me from calling for help." She began to say.

Bobby sat and listened as he heard what had taken place yesterday while he'd been gone, nervousness creeping into him at wondering if the two who'd done this yesterday might be coming back.

"As soon as I felt the pressure on my wrists, I knew something wasn't right and began to panic because I kept having flashbacks to the past four days. One of them said something but my head was starting to swim and I couldn't focus entirely on what was being said. Next thing I know I felt a rag over my face which knocked me out because of the stuff that was on it." She concluded, seeing the traces of nervousness showing on his features.

"I'm going to call your mom and let her know you're awake. Do you want to talk to her and Joey?" he asked.

"Sure, I imagine Joey's worried sick after everything that's happened." She replied.

Joey sat in his bedroom at his grandmothers worrying about how his mother was doing. His grandmother had left to check on Keira and he lay there wondering if things would be ok. Kim's mother had picked up her granddaughter and carried her into the kitchen to get a bottle for her when the phone rang and upon answering it she found Bobby on the other end.

"How's everything going?" she asked nervously, hoping nothing else had happened.

"Pretty good. They just took Kim off the vent about 15 minutes ago." He replied, hearing Keira babbling in the background.

"How's she doing after everything she's been through?" she questioned.

"Hold on and I'll let you talk to her." He said, passing the phone over to her.

When she heard her daughter's voice she was beyond relieved that she was going to be fine and knew Joey would probably want to talk to her.

"Hey mom," Kim said into the phone, hearing her daughter's voice in the background.

"How are you feeling?" her mother asked, sitting down in the living room with the bottle for Keira.

"Pretty good at the moment after having that tube removed from my throat." She replied.

"It's good to hear your voice again. Everything that's happened has really given everyone a scare." Her mother said in response.

The two talked for about five minutes when Bobby wrote on the dry erase board he was going to go get a bottle of water out of one of the machines down the hall and asked did she want one. She nodded her head yes while she spoke with her mother and watched him leave momentarily.

"Want me to go get Joey so you can talk to him for a bit? He's been worried ever since he heard what happened." Her mother said quietly.

"Sure that would be fine." She replied smiling, anxious to talk to her son.

She put the phone down on the couch and walked to her grandson's room and said, "Joey honey could you come out here for a minute?" and returned to the living room.

Joey heard what she said and came out and found her in the living room with his sister.

"I've got someone who wants to talk to you." she said with a smile, passing him the phone.

As soon as Joey heard his mom's voice on the other end he was ecstatic that she was going to be fine and that he could finally talk to her.

"Mom!" he said somewhat surprised; "Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine baby, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Better, now that I know you'll be ok." He replied, feeling a sense of relief that his mother was doing better.

"How's Keira doing?" she questioned, wondering how things were going with her.

"She has her moments when she's uncooperative or temperamental where she's about ready to cut teeth but other than that she's been fine." Joey said in reponse.

Bobby came back in with two bottles of water and passed her one and figured she was talking to Joey. He knew that once Joey talked with her he probably wouldn't worry as much as he had when he'd found out she'd taken the turn for the worse. He could tell her voice was starting to get a bit weak and wondered if Joey had noticed.

She took a quick drink of water while her son was talking to her, hoping to keep her voice from fading on her. The two talked for about five more minutes when Joey said, "I'd better let you go, it sound's like your voice is starting to get a bit weak."

"Ok sweetheart. If your grandmother brings you and Keira down tomorrow I'll see you then." She replied.

"Alright. I'll hopefully see you tomorrow then." Joey said, hoping his grandmother took them to see her tomorrow; "I love you."

"I love you too baby. Behave for your grandmother and I'll see you soon." She replied before hanging up the phone.

After she'd hung up the phone he asked, "How's Joey doing?"

"He sounded immensely relieved and kinda shocked when he heard my voice, but I he sounded thrilled to death." She replied taking another drink of water.

"I imagine he is relieved, after all look what all has happened in a time frame of twenty-four hours." Bobby said in response.

"I know. Let's hope this is the end of it. Because I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take." Kim replied quietly, hating to think what else Craig could pull.

"Do you remember much about what happened the four days you were gone?" he asked gently.

"I never saw much of anything because the whole time they had me blindfolded. But I do know that there are three people involved. I recognized two of the three voices I heard but I can only put a face to one of the voices, the other voice I recognized I know I've heard somewhere but I can't place where I've met the person." She replied.

"Was one of the voices Craig's?" he asked.

"Yeah." She said in response; "I remember hearing the three of them talking like one or all of them had done something like this before and making it sound as if it were a joke."

"Hopefully this will be the end of it and everything can go back to normal." Bobby commented.

"I doubt it because one of the last things Craig asked after he'd punched me in the stomach leads me to believe that this isn't over yet." She began to say.

"What did he say?" he asked, nervousness building up in him.

"He asked if I'd give my live to save you and I told him I would. Then he said 'We just might test that theory later. See if you're willing to back that statement up.'" Kim replied; "We've got to stop him before something else happens."

Her voice was starting to get weak and Bobby immediately noticed the change and said, "Your voice is starting getting raspier and weaker each time you talk. Why don't you rest your voice for a bit? I'm not going anywhere so nothing else will happen."

She nodded her head in response and eventually drifted off to sleep, hoping she wouldn't have any flashbacks to the four days she spent in hell when Craig kidnapped her. She glanced at the clock and noticed it was almost 10. She thought of the excitement that tomorrow would bring when she'd get to see her son and daughter for the first time since she'd been in the hospital.

As her shift winded down at work, Alex had planned to stop by and check on Kim to see how she was doing. Jimmy and the guys had planned on going down to Haggerty's and invited her to come but she declined, she really didn't feel in the mood for alcohol so the boys went and spent the evening having man to man discussions over beer. Alex headed down the hall of the ICU unit and quietly knocked on the door, seeing Kim asleep and Bobby watching over her.

"How's she doing?" Alex asked, stepping into the room.

"Much better. She was telling me what all happened to lead up to all this happening, then her voice started to get weak." He replied, looking over at Alex as she came in.

"What caused all of this to happen?" Alex asked curiously, pulling up a chair beside him.

"Two out of the three people involved in her disappearance showed up here yesterday. I imagine she got herself too worked up and eventually bottomed out from it." He replied.

She noticed he looked kind of tired and said, "You look horrible. Why don't you go home and get some rest and I'll stay with her."

Bobby shook his head no and said, "I'm not leaving after what happened yesterday. I blame myself for leaving her yesterday and going to get something to eat, but I never imagined whoever was behind this would come here."

"At least go get something to eat. I'm guessing you haven't eaten anything all day am I right?" she asked.

He nodded his head yes and said, "You're right."

"Let me go get a bottle of soda and I'll stay here with her till you get back." Alex replied before heading to get a bottle of soda out of one of the machines near her room.

She quickly grabbed a Mountain Dew from the machine and headed back and sat down with her. Before Bobby left she said, "And no wolfing down your food in five seconds to get back up here either. I'm not going anywhere."

Bobby laughed and said, "Yes ma'am." and left the room to get something to eat from the cafeteria in the basement.


	86. Special Visitors

He had to force himself to take his time and not hurry back upstairs. He'd been so preoccupied with how she was doing, he'd hardly noticed that he hadn't eaten anything all day long. The entire time he was in the basement in the cafeteria his thoughts were of the events that took place the day before, but he quickly reminded himself that Alex was with her and every thing would be ok while he was gone.  
  
Alex sat and took an occasional sip of her Mt. Dew and flipped through the paper that had been sitting on the bedside table from the day before when a knock at the door captured her attention. She turned her head to see who it was and saw one of the nurses standing at the door. Hailey had just finished her shift and reported off to Cassandra who was coming on and wanted to see how things were going before she left for the evening. She noticed a blonde woman reading the paper and knocked before entering.  
  
"Did her husband leave?" Hailey asked, assuming the woman with her was a family member or friend.  
  
"He went to get something to eat. I tried to talk him into going home and resting but he wouldn't listen to me even after I volunteered to stay here till he got back." Alex replied softly, refolding the paper.  
  
"When I came on this morning and the nurse who'd taken care of her the night she coded told me he'd been here with her since she came in I couldn't believe it." Hailey said in response stepping into the room.  
  
"He was a wreck the four days she was missing. I was working with him the whole time and hoped this had a good ending to it and thankfully it has." Alex said.  
  
"What do you do?" Hailey asked curiously.  
  
"When I'm not working paramedic shifts at the 55, I'm a firefighter." Alex replied.  
  
"My brother's a firefighter. Some of the stories he's told me make me cringe, but I admire him for what he does." Hailey said.  
  
Alex smiled and said in return, "I wouldn't pick any other job other than what I do now."  
  
"Well I'd best be going. Cassandra should be in shortly to check on Kim, she's the nurse that will be taking care of her this evening." Hailey replied before she left.  
  
Sure enough about ten minutes after Hailey had left Cassandra came in and introduced herself and checked the monitors that Kim was hooked to and recorded the vitals displayed on one of the monitors so she could add them to Kim's chart. She left shortly after recording the information to make rounds on the other patients she was taking care of that evening.  
  
Alex had finished her drink about thirty minutes later and got up to throw the bottle away when she noticed something peculiar in the trash can. She thought it was odd for an unlabeled bottle to be in the trashcan and didn't bother it incase whoever had caused Kim to work herself into a frenzy made the mistake of leaving it in the trash. She noticed that Kim was starting to toss and turn a bit as she made her way back to sit down. Alex placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to wake her up thinking she was having a bad dream or something. When she felt the hand on her shoulder, her first thoughts were of the things that had happened during the four days she was in Craig's demented clutches. She started to become slightly combative, catching Alex off guard completely.  
  
"Please. Just leave me alone." Kim said.  
  
Alex applied firm but gentle pressure on both her shoulders to try and keep her from toss and turning and said, "Kim relax. It's me, Alex. You're having a bad dream, everything's fine."  
  
Several minutes later she opened her eyes and saw Alex standing there with a worried expression on her face after the whole incident had ended.  
  
"You ok?" Alex asked as she sat down.  
  
"Yeah." She replied; "Sorry about falling apart like that on you, even though I was asleep."  
  
"You've got every right to with everything that's happened and what you've been through. Hell you're probably handling this better than I ever could if I were in your position." Alex said in response.  
  
"Where'd Bobby go?" she asked, sitting up for a bit.  
  
"I made him go get something to eat because he told me he hadn't eaten anything all day. I told him he should go home and rest but he wouldn't listen." Alex replied.  
  
"He can be so stubborn at times." Kim said in response.  
  
"I know. At times you can be just as stubborn as he is." She commented, unable to keep a straight face any longer.  
  
Kim had to laugh because she knew Alex was right. They both could be stubborn as hell when they wanted to be.  
  
"Tell me something I don't know." Kim replied grinning.  
  
Alex thought for a second and said, "A couple of days ago I was leaving work and found a note on my car saying that someone was sorry that they'd accidentally scratched my car. No one saw who left the note but there was a phone number on the note so before I called the number I grabbed my penlight from the car and was looking around trying to find the scratch. Lombardo came out and saw what I was doing and asked what I was doing."  
  
"Someone hit your car? Who was it?" Kim asked shocked.  
  
Alex laughed and said, "I'm getting to that part. Anyway, I tell Lombardo and give him the note and he cracks up laughing and says 'So that's the prank Jimmy was going to pull' because he recognized his handwriting."  
  
"That was cruel. You should get him back big time for that." Kim said shaking her head.  
  
"How?" Alex asked.  
  
Kim thought for a second and replied, "Ya know the cravings he gets for Taco Bell sometimes?"  
  
"Yeah, sometimes he'll eat that stuff 2 or 3 days in a row. I couldn't stand to do that." Alex said in response.  
  
"Next time he calls your place say something a person working at a fast food place would say when you're going through the drive through or ordering take out and see what he says." Kim suggested; "See if he catches on or is totally clueless and actually tries orders something."  
  
Alex laughed and committed that to memory and said, "I'll try that and see what happens."  
  
"I overheard someone saying they pulled a prank like that on someone and they actually fell for it hook line and sinker." She replied.  
  
"Can you imagine the look on the person on the receiving end's face?" Alex asked.  
  
"It would be priceless, that's for sure." Kim said in response.  
  
Bobby had finished up downstairs and was on his way back upstairs. When he reached the room he heard the conversation that the two of them were having and stood outside and listened for a bit. He laughed silently at what they were talking about and finally came in and said, "You two can be quite devious when you're left alone."  
  
Kim had to laugh and Alex said in response, "It's a good thing you listened to what I told you before went downstairs. Or else you would have had to have paid the consequences."  
  
He said sarcastically almost ready to laugh, "Right. By you and what army?"  
  
Alex stood up to leave and said, "I guess you won't be finding out now will you?"  
  
He shook his head in amusement and before Alex left told him about what she'd found in the trash and he made a mental note not to let anyone bother it. Luckily the can wasn't all that full so chances are housekeeping wouldn't be changing it anyhow.  
  
"So how are did Alex say things were going down at the house?" Bobby asked as he sat down.  
  
"Pretty good. Jimmy's been pulling pranks on people so I gave Alex a good one to pull on him." Kim replied grinning.  
  
"I know. I heard what the two of you were talking about before I came in. Sounds like he's been up to no good recently." Bobby said in response.  
  
"When is he ever up to any good?" Kim said laughing.  
  
"Good point." Bobby noted.  
  
The next day around eleven a.m., Faith and Bosco came to visit Kim and see how she was doing. Bobby had stepped out to get some soda and noticed the two of them coming down the hall. Faith went on in to talk to Kim and Bobby told Bosco about what Alex had found. The two of them sat and talked out in the waiting room while Kim spoke with Faith.  
  
Kim looked up when she heard footsteps and expected to see Bobby but saw Faith instead.  
  
"Hey Faith. Come on in." she said smiling.  
  
"You look a heck of a lot better than you did when we brought you in here." Faith said smiling, giving her friend a comforting hug.  
  
"I don't know how I could ever repay you for getting me out of there." Kim replied as Faith sat down.  
  
"You don't owe me anything. All I want to see you do is get out of here and get back to that family of yours and when your ready, start back to work. That's all the thanks I need." Faith said in response.  
  
The two of them sat and talked for quite a bit while Bobby and Bosco sat talking out in the waiting room.  
  
"I can't believe I lost that bastard in the car chase. I almost had him till a big truck pulled out into the intersection and the jag off got away." Bosco said bitterly.  
  
"Don't worry about it. We'll get him and whoever else is working with him. All that matters now is that they don't try and pull anything else." Bobby replied, knowing that Bosco would see to it that Craig was brought down, especially after loosing him in the chase.  
  
"You better bet he'll be going down. I'll see to it that he does." Bosco said with determination.  
  
Several minutes later the two of them headed towards Kim's room and went in. Bosco found a bag he could put the bottle and rag in and used a pair of the latex exam gloves to get the two items with and put them in the bag. After doing that he and Faith stayed for a bit and the group of four talked for a bit before the two had to leave to go to work. The phone rang after Faith and Bosco had left and Kim found her mother on the phone, telling her she was getting ready to bring the kids down to see her for a bit. When she got off the phone Bobby asked, "Is your mom bringing the kids down?"  
  
"Yeah, she's getting ready to leave with them." She replied putting the phone back on the receiver.  
  
Kim sighed and wondered when on earth she was getting out of the hospital. She was tired of being here and would feel a bit safer at home, especially after the unwanted visit of Tony and Marc. Bobby noticed it looked like she was thinking about something and asked, "You ok?"  
  
"I'm fine. Just wondering when I can get out of here and come home." She replied, looking out at the skyline as she spoke.  
  
Bobby was getting ready to reply when he heard Joey's enthusiastic voice coming down the hallway and said, "Guess who's here."  
  
Right about that time Joey appeared in the doorway, an eager look of anticipation written across his face, being replaced by a large smile when he saw the dramatic difference he saw in his mother compared to what he'd seen when she'd been brought into the hospital. Kim's mother stood behind Joey, holding Keira in her arms when they came into the room. The little girl smiled happily when she saw her mother and squealed in delight bringing a smile to Kim's face. Joey sat next to his mother on the side of the bed and gave her a hug and said softly, "Thank you for not giving up."  
  
She wasn't sure what he meant since she hadn't heard what he'd said when she'd been unconscious and whispered back, "Never in a million years would I leave you all."  
  
Her mother passed her Keira and the group discussed how things were going. They couldn't stay for an extended amount of time because of the age limits on the floor but they made the most of time they had during the visit. Hailey came in and smiled when she saw the kids.  
  
"Looks like a family reunion in here." She said when she entered.  
  
"You better believe it." Kim said smiling as Keira sat babbling on front of her.  
  
When it was time for them to go, she gave both of the kids a hug and a kiss goodbye before her mother took them back home. She hated to see them go but knew they'd be back later. After the group had left she looked at Bobby and asked curiously, "What did Joey mean when he said ' Thank you for not giving up.'" 


	87. Calm before the bomb

He thought back to the night he, Alex and Jimmy had overheard Joey's heartfelt plea and took a seat next to the bed and began to explain what had been said that day.  
  
"It all started when I'd gone to call and let my mom know you'd been found." Bobby began to say as he thought back to the events of the night.  
  
"Joey had fallen asleep alongside Jimmy and Alex in the waiting room and your mom had gone down to get something eat since she'd been so worried about making sure the kids were taken care of and about you still missing. After I'd finished up on the phone, the three of us started talking a few feet away so we wouldn't bother Joey. Sometime during the course of our conversation, he woke up and headed in to see you. Alex was the first to notice that he was gone and Jimmy told us that he figured he was with you. So we all went to see if what he'd said was right and sure enough, there he was." Bobby began to say, remembering the events of that night as if it were yesterday when it occurred.  
  
Kim sat and listened as he spoke of what happened. She remembered faintly, somewhere in the back of her mind, hearing Joey's voice that night, but wasn't able to make out what he was saying. Some of the memories she had of that night were vague due to the traumatic experiences that she went through. She looked forward to getting on with her life after all the hell that Craig had put her through and getting back into a normal routine and getting back to work.  
  
Later on that afternoon, several of the guys from the firehouse came to see how she was doing. D.K, Walsh and Lombardo headed into the hospital and made their way to the ICU with cards and flowers. Some were from the cops across the street and others were from the station house. When they got to her room, D.K stuck his head in the door while Walsh and Lombardo stood back, away from the door so no one would see what they were carrying.  
  
"Up for company?" D.K asked.  
  
"Hey! Come on in." Kim answered in response as Bobby pivoted around in the chair to see who all had come in.  
  
The moment she looked at all the flowers they had brought her, Kim rolled her eyes and said, "It looks like we're setting up a flower shop in here."  
  
Everyone began to laugh and the conversation then changed to the goings on around the firehouse the past several days. Before the guys left for the afternoon, they said their good-byes and head back towards the front of the hospital to get ready for their shift. As the days past, she regained more of her strength and everyone could tell she was almost to the point to where she could be discharged. However, it wasn't until the end of the week that the doctor cleared her so she could go home. On Friday morning the doctor made his rounds and much to her surprise, told her she was finally able to go home.  
  
Hearing the words that she could finally go home were music to her ears. All the time she'd spent cooped up inside the hospital was starting to take its toll on her and finally being able to get back to a normal routine in her own home was exactly what she wanted. Bobby had finally started heading home at night instead of staying all night at the hospital since there wasn't any danger of a relapse like there had been in the past. Finally getting a decent night's sleep was wonderful, although he had a lot to make up for because sleeping in hospital chairs is far from comfortable. It got to the point to where hardly anything would get him up once he'd fallen into a deep sleep. Luckily the kids were with his mother since she was going to take them Disney's Monster's Inc. On Ice that afternoon.  
  
As the phone rang for what had to have been the tenth time, Kim still got no answer when she called to tell him she was able to come home finally. After finally getting frustrated of hearing the constant ring and no one picking up she figured he was either still asleep or out running errands. She decided to have Alex go see if he his car was still there and if it was, see what on earth he was doing not answering the phone. When she called Alex's apartment she didn't get an answer at first and was starting to get irritated.  
  
"What is it with people not answering their phones today?" she grumbled under her breath as she prepared to dial Alex's cell phone.  
  
After a couple rings someone picked up, much to Kim's relief. Alex glanced down at her phone and looked at the number and didn't recognize it at first and answered the call, since she needed a break from running anyhow.  
  
"Hello?" Alex said into the phone, wondering who was calling her.  
  
"Hey Alex, how are you this morning?" Kim asked, relieved that she wasn't jumping on the bandwagon of people not answering their phones.  
  
"Pretty good, just out for a morning jog. How about yourself?" she replied back into the phone.  
  
"Trying to get a hold of Bobby so I can get out of here since I'm being discharged." Kim said, glancing over at the clock on the wall.  
  
"He's not there yet? It's almost 11:30, normally he's already there by now." Alex replied.  
  
"I know. I've tried calling umpteen million times and I'm not getting an answer at the apartment or on his cell." Kim said back.  
  
"Want me to head over and see what he's up to?" Alex asked curiously.  
  
"Sure. If he won't answer the phone, nine chances out of ten he won't answer the door so if you want you can swing by here and I'll give you my set of keys so you can get in." Kim replied.  
  
"Ok, give me about fifteen minutes and I'll be over." Alex said, as she started in the direction of the hospital.  
  
"See you shortly." Kim said in return before she hung up the phone.  
  
After getting off the phone with Alex, she got up and went to the small closet on the other side of the hospital room to get her set of keys out of the bag of stuff that was being kept there. All her stuff was ready to go, she just needed him to come get her, plus the doctor had to discuss the discharge papers with both of them.  
  
When Alex arrived at the hospital, she tried calling to see if Bobby had decided to quit playing avoid the phone but there was no response so she decided to pull something on him to get back at him for being a phone recluse. When she arrived at the apartment she listened through the door at first to see if she could hear anything going on before letting herself in. Upon hearing only silence, Alex let herself in quietly. Heading down the hall she found him still in bed and came to the obvious conclusion that he was way out of it to be asleep that late in the morning. She tried calling his name several times to see if he would respond to her voice, keeping her from using drastic measures to get him up.  
  
"Bobby! Get your lazy ass out of bed!" Alex called, seeing if he responded.  
  
She tried several more times before resorting to the old snapping towel trick. It was effective with the firefighters when they wouldn't get up at the station so why wouldn't it work in this situation. She went and got a clean towel and dampened the end of it and wound it up and headed back to her slumbering target. When Alex reentered the room she took aim on the upper part of his left shoulder and let the towel fly. The sound of the towel connecting with it's target echoed in the room as well as Bobby's shocked exclaim.  
  
"What in the hell!" he said in shock, jumping at the impact of the towel.  
  
Alex had to keep from laughing at his reaction as he sat up, rubbing his stinging shoulder.  
  
"When was it against the law to sleep." he asked groggily turning around to face the person who'd snapped him with the towel.  
  
After seeing Alex standing in the doorway he exclaimed, "Alex! How on earth did you get in here?"  
  
"Get dressed then we can play twenty questions." She replied, heading into the living room.  
  
He quickly got up and grabbed a pair of jeans and made the bed. Grabbing a T-shirt from the closet and pulling it over his head as he headed towards the living room to get some answers. As he headed into the other room the one question that was filling his head was what on earth was Alex doing in the apartment.  
  
"Ok, how on earth did you get in here?" Bobby asked as he came into the living room and saw her sitting on the couch.  
  
Instead of answering, Alex dug the set of keys out of her pocket and dangled them in front of her. Bobby looked to the small intable where he kept his wallet and keys and realized who's key's she had. Looking at the keychain that Alex dangled out of her hand, his eyes got as big as dinner plates and under his breath he exclaimed, "Shit!"  
  
Alex took in his reaction and asked, "Did you forget how to answer a phone?"  
  
"The phone rang? I never heard it." He replied.  
  
"Well, Kim called umpteen million times this morning trying to get a hold of you and resorted to me when she couldn't get an answer." Alex said in response.  
  
He looked at his cellphone and saw numerous missed calls, which he assumed all came from Kim.  
  
"Nothing's happened to her has there?" he asked, going through the missed calls and seeing what times they'd come through.  
  
"No she's fine, just waiting on you so she can come home." Alex replied.  
  
Craig had gotten up that morning and had a feeling today would be an important day. He got up and saw that his two companions were still asleep so while they were, he left for a bit and decided to see what was going on with his latest obsession. Dropping by first at the apartment he headed up to the front door and listened to the conversation.  
  
"So she's coming home today, eh?" he said silently, an evil smirk spreading across his face at the info.  
  
He listened to the rest of the conversation till he heard footsteps heading towards the door and he quickly retreated, heading back out to his car. Within minutes of returning to the safety of his car, he saw Bobby emerge followed by Alex. The two of them climbed into the Explorer and headed off. Questions immediately began to shoot through Craig's brain as he followed the two of them at a safe distance to avoid detection.  
  
"Have those two had a thing going while she's been the hospital?" Craig asked himself aloud, jumping at the sound of his cellphone ringing.  
  
Looking at the number coming across the display, he noticed it was the number for his apartment and assumed that it was Marc that was calling.  
  
"What do you need Marc?" Craig asked, assuming it was his cousin on the other line.  
  
"Nothing really. Just wondering where you were since you were gone when we got up." Marc replied.  
  
"I'm doing some recon work. I'll fill you two in on the details later when I get in." Craig replied, turning down the same street as the people he was tailing.  
  
"Ok, see you whenever you get back." Marc said before hanging up the phone.  
  
After having finished the brief conversation with his cousin he said aloud, "I swear sometimes I think he believes that we're attached at the hip or something."  
  
He parked across the street from the hospital and watched the two get out of their car and headed into the hospital, not knowing that they were being watched.  
  
Back in the apartment Marc had just hung up the phone with Craig, not knowing what he was doing. Tony came lumbering in from the other room and noticed the phone that his friend was just putting down and asked, "Who'd you talk to?"  
  
"I called Craig's cell to see where he was since normally he tells us when he's going somewhere." Marc replied.  
  
"What did he say he was doing?" Tony asked.  
  
"All he said was he was doing some recon work and would fill us in later on when he gets back. Whenever that will be." Marc replied.  
  
Tony sighed briefly and said, "We'll find out sooner or later what he's up to that's for sure."  
  
Both men nodded their heads and took a sip of the soda they had gotten from the fridge and silently wondered what Craig was up to.  
  
Kim had to keep herself from pacing the floor waiting on Alex to come back, hopefully with Bobby in tow. When she heard multiple sets of footsteps coming down the hall she hoped that Alex had come through. When she saw the two of them come through the doorway a huge sigh of relief escaped her. Now all they needed was to speak to the doctor about the discharge papers and she was finally out of this place, hopefully for good. Almost instantaneously after the two had come in, the doctor followed suit and starting going over the paperwork. When all the technicalities were squared away she was finally free to go. As the three waited on one of the elevators Bobby leaned in to kiss Kim, but she accidentally put pressure on the area where Alex had nailed him with the towel earlier. When he suddenly pulled back because of the tenderness in his shoulder Kim asked, "What's wrong with your shoulder?"  
  
"Ask Alex, she'll tell you all about it." He replied getting on to the elevator, noticing the confused look on Kim's face.  
  
She looked to Alex and asked, "What's the scoop?"  
  
"Well Sleeping Beauty over there was completely out of it when I let myself in and didn't even respond to when I yelled at him to get up so I had to improvise my tactic to get him up." Alex replied.  
  
"Which was?" Kim asked in reply.  
  
"Snapping him in the upper shoulder with the end of a wet towel." Alex said in response.  
  
Kim cringed slightly, remembering the days when she was in high school where people used to do that.  
  
"Now I do feel sorry for you because those things hurt like hell when you're hit with them." She commented as they stepped off the elevator.  
  
"Tell me something I don't know." Bobby replied, shooting an evil look at Alex.  
  
Outside the hospital the Black Honda Civic still sat across the street from hospital with Craig watching for his targets to come out of the building. He peered out of the darkly tinted windows at the three as they left the hospital and headed towards the Explorer.  
  
"It's about time they let you go." Craig sneered silently, watching the Explorer drive right past him.  
  
As he watched them pull away and disappear from sight he decided to go ahead and start preplanning the location for the final scheme to take place. He drove out of the city to the deserted secret hide out and began to brainstorm ideas, copying them down onto paper.  
  
"Let her think everything's over. Then, surprise! It all starts over again, only this time it's for good." Craig said confidently, hashing out the groundwork for what was to come.  
  
After about three hours of preliminary planning done on the basic framework, he left in search of the perfect location. Driving around the city looking at abandoned buildings till he found one that on the outside looked perfect for what he'd come up with so far. A three-story warehouse type building stood out on a quiet street was exactly what he was looking for. Parking across the street from the building, he decided to take a look inside to see what the inside looked like. Stepping into the dim building, stack after stack of wooden crates met his gaze.  
  
"I can definitely incorporate these into the plan." Craig said silently, walking past numerous rows of crates stacked on top of each other.  
  
At the back of the building were several office like rooms which would be incorporated as well. All he needed to do was assemble all the necessary supplied and transport them here and set everything up. As he left to head back to his apartment and fill in Marc and Tony on the location and run the ideas by them and see if they had anything else to add to the plan. Heading back to his apartment after the thirty-minute drive back, he was met by the sound of blaring music coming from just beyond the door.  
  
"What do these jackasses think they're doing!" Craig fumed before unlocking the door.  
  
Marc and Tony sat sipping Bacardi Silvers while trying to find something to listen to. Craig had been gone for close to eight hours so while he was gone, they decided to kick back and chill a bit.  
  
"Man there is absolutely nothing on the radio. You got any good CD's?" Marc asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact I do." Tony replied, getting up and getting a CD from the other room and put it into the CD player and adjusting the volume and bass to go with a particular song he had in mind.  
  
Loud music ripped through the apartment much to Tony's satisfaction. Marc just about choked on the swig of bacardi in his mouth at the loud music, causing him to jump a foot off the sofa.  
  
"What the hell! Tony do you think I'm deaf!" Marc shouted over the music.  
  
"The only reason the volume is up is to amplify the bass." Tony shouted in return, taking his seat on the couch once more.  
  
After several minutes Marc got used to the volume of the music and started to get into what was playing.  
  
"What is this song called? It's killer." Marc shouted.  
  
"Bombshell by Powerman 5000." Tony replied.  
  
Two minutes into the song Craig stormed into the apartment, and from the looks of it he was pissed.  
  
"What in the blazing hell are you two doing!" he fumed.  
  
"Relaxing to some music and drinking Bacardi's!" Marc replied over the music.  
  
Craig stormed over to the CD player and turned the volume down to a level that you could once again hear yourself think.  
  
"We need to discuss some details for the final plan." Craig said as he returned from getting a Bacardi out of the fridge and returning to where Tony and Marc were.  
  
"What details do we need to work on?" Marc asked.  
  
"I found the perfect building to use in our plan but with what we'd already planned it wouldn't work unless we reverted to the first plan that we discussed, because the layout of the building would fit it perfectly. How do you two feel about reverting to the original plan?" Craig said in reply.  
  
Marc and Tony discussed amongst themselves for a few moments before Marc said, "That's fine with us if we go back to the first plan."  
  
"Good. Shall we start planning the logistics?" Craig asked.  
  
"Sounds good." Tony replied.  
  
The three sat around the small coffee table passing ideas back and forth, writing down the details that everyone agreed on. After close to four hours of discussion, Craig looked over the list of ideas and silently read over them. Looking at it, the ideas were perfect but something seemed to be missing. Marc noticed the strange but unsure look on Craig's face and asked, "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Something's missing to complete the plan but I can't place what it is." Craig replied.  
  
Tony looked at the list and said, "We've covered when this will go down, what roles the three of us will have and all the other necessary things, but if this is the finale so to speak don't you think it should be a bit explosive?"  
  
Marc looked at the list over Tony's shoulder and said, "He's right. Why not include some fire and explosives to make it much more challenging."  
  
All of a sudden something hit Tony and he spoke up on what had just come to his mind.  
  
"How are we going to get her to the location? She's not going to magically appear just because we tell her to unless there is bait to lure her there." Tony said, looking at Crag and Marc as he spoke.  
  
"Ah good point Tony. How do you propose we lure her in?" Craig asked.  
  
"Well how about taking something near and dear to her?" Tony suggested.  
  
A sinister smile spread across Craig's face as he pictured the perfect target to lure her with when Marc asked, "But what is the target going to be?"  
  
Tony opened his mouth to voice an opinion but was cut off by Craig as he said, "Don't worry I've got the perfect target already in mind."  
  
Tony and Marc looked at each other and then to Craig as he wrote down what the target was going to be. The three had a sense now that the plan couldn't fail. Not even with the stakes as high as they were now. In there eyes they thought the plan was fool proof, but soon they would find out whether it was or not. 


	88. A Storm is Coming

It was a frigid January day, no snow had fallen yet but even sunshine failed to make the day any warmer. Joey was spending the weekend with his friend Michael since it was a Friday and Bobby had dropped him off after taking Kim to work since he had the day off. When he returned home, he unhooked Keira from the back seat and headed up to their apartment. As he walked in he put her down in her swing in the living room and brought in a basket of laundry to sort. As he put up some of Keira's clothes that he'd just folded he noticed they were running low on diapers and decided to go ahead and make a list of stuff that they needed to pick up from the store. When it was time for her next bottle that evening, he'd picked her up and flipped on the T.V and was seeing what the weather was going to be doing over the next couple of days. Keira contently drank from the bottle cradled in his lap when he noticed a winter storm warning issued. He figured he'd better get the stuff that day, just incase the weather turned bad. As soon as Keira finished her bottle, he'd carried her with him to the kitchen so he could make a list of what other items he needed to pick up to get them through the weekend.  
  
After getting the list of stuff needed in the kitchen, he proceeded to the nursery to make sure they didn't need anything other than diapers. He flipped on the light to the room and sat Keira in her crib while he went through and made sure they had plenty of stuff for her. He heard her babbling contently but rather excitedly and saw her looking towards the window. He noticed large snowflakes falling heavily past the window that must have caught her attention. After he'd added to the list, he went and picked her up and sat in the rocking chair by the window and let her look outside as the snow fell. He'd noticed the streets and cars were completely covered with snow and it looked like it wasn't going to be letting up anytime soon either. Keira squealed with delight as she watched the snow fall past the window. He had his cell phone in his pocket and balanced Keira in his lap with one hand while he dug the phone out so he could see if there was anything Kim needed when he went out to the store.  
  
Kim heard her phone ringing and picked it up off her bunk and answered it.  
  
"Hey Kimmy, its me. I'm getting ready to head out and pick some stuff up to get us through the weekend is there anything that you need while I'm out?" he asked, silently laughing at Keira still squealing at the snow.  
  
Kim looked at her watch and thought briefly for a bit and replied, "I can't think of anything at the moment. Since I get off in four hours why don't you let me go pick the stuff up so you and Keira don't have to get out in this mess."  
  
"You sure? It's not a problem for us to go pick the stuff up. Plus I think our daughter inherited your love of snow anyhow. She's been squealing ever since I brought her to the window to watch it fall." Bobby said chuckling.  
  
"I was wondering what you were doing for her to be squealing that much," Kim said with a laugh; "Plus Alex and I have responded to enough accidents tonight because of the weather. I'm already out in it, so it wouldn't be a problem for me to pick the stuff we need up on my way home."  
  
Bobby read off the list of what was needed and Kim grabbed a piece of scrap paper out of her purse and a pen and quickly wrote down what he'd read off to her. She read the list back to him to make sure she didn't miss anything and thought up a couple of items to add to the list and added them while they talked.  
  
"As soon as I'm off I'll stop and pick up the stuff we need and come home." She said; looking out the window from her bunk and watching the snow fall.  
  
"Ok. Be careful out there and I'll see you soon." He replied before hanging up.  
  
"I will. You two had better behave till I get home too." She replied laughing.  
  
"Maybe we will and maybe we won't." Bobby said chuckling, tickling Keira causing her to laugh and kick in his lap.  
  
Kim rolled her eyes and replied, "The apartment better be in one piece when I get home tonight or someone is in trouble."  
  
"You and Alex be careful out there incase you all get anymore calls and I'll be waiting on you to help put up the groceries." He said in response.  
  
"Ok. I love you and see you soon," she replied smiling to herself at her daughter's squeals in the background.  
  
"I love you too sweetheart. Have a safe shift and be careful coming home." He said in response before he hung up the phone.  
  
Alex had been coming up the stairs and saw her looking over the list and said, "What are you up to?"  
  
"Looking over the list of stuff I have to pick up to get us through the weekend incase the roads would be bad." Kim replied, putting her cell phone back in her purse.  
  
"I'd planned on doing the same thing, wanna car pool?" Alex asked.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Kim replied, putting the list into her purse.  
  
"Wanna play cards or something till we get a call?" Alex suggested.  
  
"Sure, what do you want to play?" Kim asked getting a deck of cards out and shuffling them.  
  
"Rummy sound ok?" she replied.  
  
"Works for me," Kim said dealing out the cards.  
  
D.K was downstairs fixing hot chocolate for those who wanted a mug and said, "Hey Jimmy, where's Kim and Alex?"  
  
"I'm assuming they're both upstairs." Jimmy replied, taking a drink of the steaming mug of hot chocolate.  
  
"Go see if they want any hot chocolate." D.K said, filling up the kettle with water.  
  
Jimmy nodded his head in response and carried his mug upstairs towards the two women.  
  
"You ladies want any hot chocolate?" Jimmy asked, cresting the stairs finding them playing cards on one of the bunks.  
  
"Sure," they both replied, not looking up from the hand of cards they held.  
  
Jimmy laughed at the two of them and said, "I didn't think you played cards Kimmy."  
  
"Oh I do alright. The thing is, I play for fun, not money." Kim replied, going out on Alex.  
  
"Damn it! Next time I'm not eating the deck when you have two cards left." Alex grumbled, counting up the points she'd gotten out of her hand.  
  
Kim snickered as she wrote down her and Alex's score and waited for her partner to shuffle the cards. Jimmy left his mug upstairs headed back to get two mugs for Kim and Alex.  
  
"They want any hot chocolate?" D.K asked as Jimmy came back downstairs.  
  
"Yep, fix two and I'll take it up to them." Jimmy replied.  
  
"This is a first Jimmy." Lombardo kidded with his friend; "Since when did you become the ladies' butler?"  
  
"What? You jealous cuz no one will wait on you?" Jimmy said jokingly as D.K passed him the two mugs.  
  
All the guys cracked up laughing as Jimmy headed back upstairs taking the mugs to Alex and Kim. They heard Jimmy coming back up the stairs and the guys giving him a hard time. He headed over to them and passed them each a steaming mug and sat on the bunk across from them.  
  
"Mind if I join in your game?" he asked.  
  
Kim looked at Alex and said, "Deal him in."  
  
He went and got a chair and moved it so he could sit next to the bed and access the rest of the cards in the pile. After three rounds of cards, it was time to start on inventory for the evening around 10:30. He followed them down to the kitchen area but stopped off in the T.V room as they headed on down to the rig to get ready for the end of their shift.  
  
"Boy am I glad Bobby and Keira don't have to get out in this mess." Kim said wrapping her jacket tighter around her.  
  
"I know, I have a feeling the roads this weekend aren't going to be pretty." Alex replied as they climbed into the back of the bus.  
  
It was five till eleven when they finished inventory and returned inside where it was warm. When the shift was over they quickly changed and got ready to head to Alex's car when they saw Jimmy leaving. He noticed them leaving and said, "What mischief are you two looking to get into tonight?"  
  
"Try a late night grocery run to get through the weekend." Alex replied.  
  
"Good idea. I just might do that on my way home." Jimmy said in return, heading past them.  
  
"You want to go with us since we're car pooling?" Alex asked.  
  
"If it's ok with you all that would be cool." Jimmy replied.  
  
"That ok with you?" Alex asked Kim.  
  
"It's fine with me," she replied as Jimmy headed towards the front passenger side door.  
  
Bobby carried Keira into the living room and brought some of her toys with him and put her in the floor and stretched out with her since Kim would be returning soon. She'd been playing with a string of beads and saw one of her stuffed animals in the floor a couple of feet away. Maneuvering herself onto all fours she began to crawl towards the toy, under his supervision. When she decided the toy wasn't of interest she continued on, about ready to head down the hall.  
  
"Just where do you think you're going you little speed demon?" Bobby asked laughing, picking her up and taking her back into the living room.  
  
She squealed loudly when he picked her up and took her back in the other room. As they headed back to the living room he heard a knock on the door. He put her down in the playpen and gave her a rattle to play with and put a stuffed pooh bear doll in with her that would shake, light up and play music whenever she shook the rattle. Looking at his watch as he moved, he figured it was Kim at the door because it was about time for her to come home. Keira had started to fuss and as he opened the door, he looked back over his shoulder to make sure she was ok when all of a sudden someone stormed the door, forcing their way into the apartment. The force exerted on the door as it was pushed open was enough to cause Bobby to take several steps back to avoid getting hit as the door was flung open. He guessed the guy was about 6'5 and had the build of a NFL quarterback.  
  
Craig and Marc stood down the hall a bit as Tony knocked on the door to the apartment, waiting till Tony had accomplished his part of the plan. Tony and Bobby locked eyes momentarily. He saw the enraged look on Bobby's face and grinned wickedly at him.  
  
"What in the hell do you think you're doing!" Bobby shouted irately, positioning himself in between Keira and whoever had just stormed the door.  
  
"Time to pay the piper," Tony sneered, lunging at him.  
  
He knew that Bobby wouldn't move because of Keira being behind him in the playpen. Surprisingly enough, Bobby drove forwards and the two began to fight, shoving each other back and forth and exchanging a few punches. Eventually Tony managed to get the upper hand when Keira began to cry and slammed Bobby to the floor. Tony whistled to signal Marc and Craig that he had him restrained and they entered a short time later. Tony had one massive hand on the back of his neck and the other holding his wrists against his back. Marc came in first and began to bind Bobby's hands behind his back. After securing his arms, Tony pulled him to his feet and Marc headed towards Keira. Bobby tried to lunge away from the tight grasp Tony had on him and move towards Keira but the grip that Tony had him in prevented him from moving towards her.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere!" Tony snarled in Bobby's face as he flung him onto the couch.  
  
Keira had no clue what was going on and began to cry even harder. She saw a unfamiliar person moving towards her and moved to the back corner of the playpen, turning away from Marc. Bobby managed to get to his feet and try to lunge past Tony once more to get at the person who was about ready pick up Keira. He rammed a shoulder into Tony's stomach, hardly knocking any of the wind from him.  
  
"You had better cooperate if you don't want something bad to happen to your precious daughter!" Tony warned, backhanding Bobby after getting him away from Marc.  
  
Tony gripped the back of Bobby's shirt and forced him out of the apartment, Marc following close behind with Keira who was putting up a fuss the whole time. Craig went in after they'd left and straightened things up and locked the door so it would look like nothing had happened and left.  
  
As they headed out Tony warned, "You make one attempt at screaming and your daughter will pay."  
  
Bobby wasn't about ready to risk Keira getting hurt because of him fighting back and reluctantly went with these two. Craig was sitting in driver's seat of the car when Marc and Tony came out. After getting Bobby into the car, Marc put a dampened rag over his mouth and nose so he wouldn't struggle. He fought the effects of whatever they'd put on the rag but eventually succumbed to it. 


	89. Fear Factor

The three headed into one of the stores that was still open and picked up the stuff they needed to get through the weekend since it looked like it was going to be a nasty one at that. It took about 20 minutes to get all the stuff everyone needed and they all headed to the front of the store to check out and load the bags into the car. Alex dropped off Jimmy first and before he left said to Alex, "I'll come by after I get this stuff put up."  
  
Alex nodded her head in response and headed to take Kim home. When they pulled up outside the complex Alex asked, "You need any help with your stuff?"  
  
"Nah I should be fine. Bobby's probably waiting on me to help get this stuff inside." She replied, not noticing she'd accidentally left her purse in Alex's car.  
  
"Ok, I'll see you on Monday then at work." Alex said before pulling off.  
  
"Be careful going home and see you later." Kim replied, picking up the bags and heading in out of the cold.  
  
When she got up to the apartment she put all the bags down and fished through her pockets for her door keys. After getting it open she picked up several bags and headed into the kitchen and put them down and went back to the door for the rest of the bags sitting in the hallway.  
  
"Bobby, I'm back." She called as she shut the front door with her foot and headed into the kitchen to put stuff up.  
  
After not getting a response from him she stopped putting stuff up and headed down the hall towards the nursery, thinking he was there to see what he was up to.  
  
"Bobby?" she called; "Where are you?"  
  
Still no one answered her calls and at first she thought he was playing some kind of practical joke on her.  
  
"This isn't funny Bobby! Where are you?" she said, starting to get irritated.  
  
She went back to finish putting up groceries and after that was complete began looking for him once more in the apartment. His keys and wallet still sat by the door and Keira's diaper bag was still in the nursery.  
  
"What the hell is he doing?" Kim grumbled angrily to herself; "He could've at least left a note saying he was going somewhere."  
  
All of a sudden the phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She crossed the distance of the room to answer it. No one answered when she picked it up and she was about ready to hang up, but a noise caught her attention. She focused on the sound and what she heard was the sound of her daughter crying. Her body froze as she listened to see if there were any other noises she could pick up on, but didn't hear any. "Why isn't Bobby answering?" Kim asked herself silently, worried something might have happened. Then a voice interrupted her thoughts and said, "Missing something?"  
  
The voice on the other end registered with her brain and just about caused her to have a nervous breakdown.  
  
"What the hell do you want!" Kim spat into the phone, infuriation starting to course through her.  
  
"I want you that's what! So unless you want something to happen to your husband or precious daughter I suggest you obey what I tell you!" Craig sneered.  
  
"Your ass going down for the last time you sick son of a bitch! You pushed it too far when you did this to me, but when you take two of the most important things in my life and try and pull the same shit, your damn cowardly ass will pay!" she hissed angrily.  
  
"You'd better calm down unless you want me to take it out on your husband!" Craig warned, signaling Tony to punch Bobby in the stomach to prove he wasn't joking.  
  
She heard Bobby's painful groan when Tony's fist connected with his stomach, which tormented her to no end.  
  
"You'd better listen carefully and do as we say or everything you do wrong will be taken out on your husband! Do you understand?" Craig asked.  
  
"Yes," she replied weakly, trying to avoid crying at that moment.  
  
"What was that? I couldn't hear you." Craig taunted, enjoying torturing her like this.  
  
"Yes damn it. Now leave me alone!" she practically screamed into the phone.  
  
Craig smiled and gave her instructions to meet at a warehouse in three hours alone and hung up the phone. She was frozen in the spot she'd stood in to answer the phone, unable to believe that the damn bastard had kidnapped her husband and daughter. The sound of the dial tone on the phone pulled her from her shocked thoughts and replaced the phone on in the charging cradle. She slumped down onto the couch trembling at the thought of what Craig could be doing to her husband and daughter. Two hours later she still sat numbly on the couch as tears made their way down her face when a sudden knock at her door scared her half to death. She slowly headed towards the door and cracked it a bit seeing Jimmy on the other side.  
  
"What do you want Jimmy?" she said softly, unable to think of anything other than Bobby and Keira.  
  
"You left your purse in Alex's car so she had me bring it back over to you," he replied, noticing her tear streaked face; "Kimmy what's wrong?"  
  
She couldn't formulate the words to tell him what had happened so instead, she undid the locks and let him in and slumped back down on the couch trembling. He had no clue what had put her in this state, but took a seat beside her on the couch and asked gently, "Something's not right. What's wrong?"  
  
Just then the phone rang causing her to jump in fright.  
  
"Relax Kimmy it's just the phone. Let the machine take a message. What's got you so upset?" he asked, wondering what on earth had happened.  
  
Just as she was ready to speak, a voice came over the machine as the message was recorded.  
  
"Don't forget Kimmy. One hour at the warehouse." Craig sneered, Keira's frightened cries could still be heard in the background which brought fresh tears to Kim's eyes.  
  
Jimmy finally had figured out what had upset her after listening to the message come through the machine and put two and two together.  
  
"Calm down, we'll get them back unharmed," he said softly, trying to make her feel better; "Go get ready and get some stuff for Keira, I'm taking you to wherever this freak told you to meet."  
  
She got up in a daze and got the diaper bag together and even packed a first aid kit incase it was needed and got herself ready.  
  
While she was gone, Jimmy called Alex to let her know what had happened. She heard the phone ringing and was relieved when she heard Jimmy's voice on the other end.  
  
"Where are you?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm still at Kim's. Craig took Bobby and Keira this evening, that's why I'm still here. She's a total wreck right now." He said softly.  
  
"He what!" Alex exclaimed; "How are we going to get them back?"  
  
"He gave Kim instructions on where to meet so I'm going to take her since she isn't in any condition to be driving right now." He replied.  
  
"Whatever you do, just be careful. We all know how unpredictable and unstable he is." Alex said, concern hinting in her voice.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be careful. If I need any help I'll call you back." He replied, seeing Kim coming back down the hall.  
  
"Ok," Alex replied worriedly, she couldn't imagine the mind frame Kim must be in at the moment. With that freak having both Bobby and her daughter she's probably on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
  
The two headed outside and took the Explorer since it had Keira's car seat all ready fastened in. Jimmy saw the anger hatred and fury building in Kim as they neared the location Craig had told her to meet at.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked.  
  
"Probably not, but at this point that's the least of my worries right now." She replied getting out of the car.  
  
Jimmy grabbed her arm and said, "What ever you do, be careful in there."  
  
"I will." She replied softly, closing the door after he'd released her arm.  
  
The door to the warehouse was wide open, but no lights were on. She slowly and cautiously made her way towards the building. Ever so slowly she slipped into the darkness of the warehouse and slowly moved forwards. Once she was a good distance away from the door, Craig went a forcefully slammed the door causing her to jump. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and had to force herself to calm her breathing down. There was no noise at all in the building until an evil laugh filled the air, resonating off the walls. Lights suddenly came on behind her and she slowly turned around seeing Craig standing about seven feet away from her.  
  
Jimmy had been waiting outside in the car and decided to take a look around the building. He looked through a window and saw Kim staring down Craig, a look of pure hatred visible on her features. He looked around at the containers near the window and saw barrels of gasoline, a lot of boxes of explosives and unmarked barrels probably full of some kind of additional accelerant.  
  
"Shit, if this place goes up, its gonna look like the fourth of July!" he said silently as he ran back to the Explorer to call Alex.  
  
Alex was sitting nervously on the couch with the phone beside her incase he called back. She'd just gotten up to go get something to drink when the phone rang. When she answered she heard Jimmy on the other line, nervousness showing in his voice as he spoke.  
  
"Alex, go down to the station and see if any of the guys are still there." He said urgently.  
  
"Why? What's wrong?" she replied wondering what was going on.  
  
"Craig's got the building surrounded by barrels of gasoline, boxes of explosives and some unmarked barrels of some unknown liquid. I was going to wait out here but I'm going to try and find a way in the back and see if I can't get the baby out of there." He said in response.  
  
"Just be careful. We don't know what else he could have done to the building." Alex replied worriedly.  
  
"I will. You wouldn't happen to have your pager handy would you?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah I do. I just put new batteries in it like 10 minutes ago." She replied.  
  
"Keep it on you. If things take a turn for the worse I'll page you." Jimmy said, glancing towards the building. "If you get the page get all the guys from the station as well as some of the cops down here as fast as you can."  
  
She wrote down the address to where he was at and knew he was probably terrified after seeing all the stuff Craig had in the building. She quickly turned off the lights in her house and grabbed her car keys and headed back to the firehouse. Jimmy turned his cell phone off and put it back in his pocket and shut the driver's side door to the Explorer and headed around to the back of the warehouse to see if there was a back entrance. Alex arrived at the station and parked her car and much to her relief found D.K, Walsh and Lombardo still there talking.  
  
"Alex, what on earth are you doing here?" D.K asked.  
  
"Jimmy told me to come back down here because we might be needed later. Craig's got Bobby and Keira and Jimmy took Kim to where the ass hole told her to meet him and just called me and told me the place is packed with barrels of gasoline and explosives." Alex said, sitting down with the other 3 fire fighters.  
  
"Shit, this will probably push Kim over the edge and when she gets her hands on Craig will probably be ready to kill him." Lombardo replied.  
  
"Oh no doubt. He's put her through hell and back and now this, I would have killed him a long time ago." Alex said, putting her pager on the table.  
  
"What's with the pager?" Walsh asked.  
  
"If things take a turn for the worse Jimmy's going to page me and it will be up to us to get to the address Jimmy gave me." Alex replied. 


	90. A Moment's Loss

The drugs that they'd given to Bobby finally began to wear off and when he came to found himself bound tightly to a chair. When he opened his eyes things were pitch black where there were no lights on in the building what so ever. He heard Keira whimpering and started to struggle against the tape but couldn't loosen its hold. He wanted to talk to her to let her know everything would be ok but with the gag tied tightly around his head that was out of the picture. He continued to struggle against the tape when he heard a voice say, "I don't think you're going anywhere."  
  
In the darkness he managed to see someone heading towards him but was only able to identify the person by their voice.  
  
"Damn you Craig! I should have known you would have been behind this!" He said bitterly to himself.  
  
Craig could still see him struggling against the tape and said tauntingly, "Just wait till one final person gets here, then things are really going to heat up around here."  
  
Afterwards Craig got up and headed a short distance away and called Kim to torment her, knowing this would more than likely push her over the edge. Bobby heard him say 'Missing something?' and figured that he'd called Kim and knew she would be terrified. Keira had been crying and he knew that she would hear her cries through the phone since Craig was standing not to far away from him, close to where she was. He figured Kim had begun to royally chew Craig's ass out over the phone for this, and heaven knows he deserved everything she was probably saying to him. He'd quit focusing on what Craig was saying, but noticed the massive figure of the individual who'd bombarded their apartment moving towards him and wondered what he was up to. Next thing he knew the man's massive fist connected with his stomach several times, knocking all the air from his body and causing a pained groan to escape the gag in his mouth.  
  
His breathing became labored as he tried to regain the breath that had been knocked from him and eventually fell into a dazed slumber. He had no clue how long he'd been out but awoke suddenly to the sound of a door being slammed. The sudden movement from him jumping at the sound put a strain on his already sore neck. Wincing from the pain radiating from the already tender muscles thanks to the amount of pressure Tony had used when he gripped him after slamming him to the floor. He heard a diabolic laugh echo through the warehouse ten minutes later, causing the hair on the back of his neck to rise. He recognized the voice as Craig's and in an instant he saw lights come on at the far end of the building. A sense of trepidation settled in his still tender stomach, knowing that Kim was here. He didn't know where Craig or the other two people were, but couldn't see where Kim was either, but had a feeling that she was in danger.  
  
Alex headed across the street to see if she could find any of the officers left at the station and saw Bosco getting ready to leave.  
  
"Bosco! Wait!" she called out.  
  
He heard a voice call his name and turned around and saw Alex rushing in his direction, nervousness showing on her normally calm features.  
  
"What's wrong Alex?" he asked.  
  
"Remember Craig?" she questioned.  
  
Bosco thought for a few and replied, "Yeah. That's the jag-off that's been giving Kim and Bobby trouble right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's him. Tonight he kidnapped Keira and Bobby while Kim was at work." Alex said; "He called and gave Kim instructions on where to meet and Jimmy took her to the location. He just called me back saying the place is surrounded by gasoline and explosives, we will probably need help from you all if he pages me if things take a turn for the worse."  
  
"He'll page you if things turn bad?" Bosco asked, feeling anger building at this jag-off's damn persistence.  
  
"Yeah, me and the guys are sitting over at the house waiting incase something would happen. If you can get anyone together feel free to come over and join us." Alex said, her stomach churning from nervousness.  
  
"Lemme go get some people together and we'll come over and wait with you all." Bosco replied.  
  
Alex shook her head in response and hurried back across the street. Bosco headed back into the precinct and found Faith, Sully and Ty leaving the locker room.  
  
"I need to talk to you three." Bosco said going into the locker room.  
  
The three looked at each other and headed back into the room they'd just come out of when Faith said, "What is it Bos?"  
  
"Remember the guy named Craig who was giving Kim grief?" Bosco replied.  
  
"That's an understatement on the grief thing, but yeah I remember who you're talking about." Faith said in response.  
  
"Well, he reached an all-time low tonight." Bosco replied.  
  
"What did he do?" Ty asked.  
  
"He took Bobby and Keira hostage while Kim was at work this evening." Bosco said, looking at the shocked expressions of his colleagues.  
  
"God, Kim must be worried sick." Faith said, softly.  
  
"What does he want with them?" Ty asked.  
  
"I don't know. But Jimmy just called Alex a few minutes ago because he'd instructed Kim to meet him at a warehouse and he took her down there and the place is surrounded by gasoline and explosives. If things get bad he's going to page Alex and it will be up to us and them to get there as fast as we can to help get them out." Bosco replied.  
  
"Count us in." Ty said; "Where are we going to wait at?"  
  
"Across the street with Alex and the rest of the firefighters." Bosco said in response.  
  
Just then officers Kevin Newman and Nick Tuero entered the locker room and Kevin heard the tail end of the conversation and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
"Kevin, you remember Kim and Bobby the medics across the street right?" Faith asked.  
  
"Yeah, I remember them." Kevin replied, fearing something had happened to them.  
  
"Craig's struck again, this time taking her husband and daughter hostage, you and your partner want to come with us?" Faith asked.  
  
"Absolutely, let's take this son of a bitch. Are her husband or daughter hurt?" he asked.  
  
"We don't know." Faith replied sadly.  
  
"You in Nick?" Kevin asked, looking at his partner.  
  
"Yep, let's bring this piece of crap to his knees." Nick replied shutting his locker.  
  
The group of six left the locker room and headed out of the precinct and headed over to the firehouse. As they climbed the stairs they found the crew from the house sitting around the kitchen table. Alex heard footsteps and looked, seeing the six officers coming up.  
  
"Has anything come through yet?" Bosco asked.  
  
"No, not yet." Alex replied seeing the other five officers behind Bosco.  
  
Everyone was sitting around in their gear incase the page came from Jimmy to go. Alex talked to Doc and Carlos and they were in on the plan as well. All they could do was sit and wait till the page came through or Jimmy called saying everything was ok.  
  
Craig smiled evilly at Kim and said wickedly, "So nice of you to join us my dear. We've been expecting you."  
  
"Cut the shit, where are they!" Kim snapped.  
  
"Tsk Tsk, anger never solves anything." He sneered as another painful groan escaped Bobby's gagged mouth after Tony punched him in the ribs; "Anyhow I'm only helping by keeping you away from that conniving two timing miscreant!"  
  
His words caught Kim off guard momentarily as she processed through what she'd just heard.  
  
"How are you helping me you piece of scum!" Kim hissed.  
  
"Look in that folder and you'll find out how." Craig taunted, motioning towards a manila folder resting on a stack of crates near where Kim was standing.  
  
She looked at the folder then back to where Craig was; wondering what this was all about. Somewhat hesitantly she slowly moved towards where the folder sat and picked it up. Flipping it open, several photographs met her gaze. Analyzing what was she was looking at sent her mind racing into overdrive.  
  
"There's no way he could do this to me." She said, trying to reassure herself while flipping through the pictures.  
  
"A woman as beautiful as you doesn't deserve to be cheated upon and taken advantage of." Craig said, watching her reactions to the photos.  
  
Flipping through each image one by one she analyzed them until she noticed something peculiar in one of the pictures.  
  
She practically stared a hole into the picture of Alex and Bobby walking out of the apartment complex. It wasn't until one of the images was taken at close up range that she noticed her keys in Alex's hand, putting a hole in what Craig was trying to pull on her. Anger welled in her at the thought of what Craig was trying to do.  
  
"Shut up! I already see through the façade your trying to pull! It just so happens I can tell when you took these pictures all thanks to one little thing!" Kim fumed; "These were taken the day I got out of the hospital because those are my keys Alex has and I was the one who gave them to her!"  
  
Craig was shocked momentarily at what she'd said and replied, "What façade? I'm just trying to get you to see the truth, that's all."  
  
"I see the truth clearly! You are trying to make me believe that my husband was messing around behind my back and turn me against him. He was there for me when I went through this in my first marriage, there is no damn way you can get me to believe what you've just said!" Kim spat, seeing a look cross Craig's face, one that conveyed the fact that his cover was blown completely.  
  
Marc had put Keira in one of the back offices in a playpen and went to help Craig. The whole lower half of the warehouse was dark so he slipped through the shadows close to where Kim was unnoticed. Bobby heard Kim snap at Craig and instinctively knew she was in danger. Tony left where Bobby was restrained and slipped up the opposite wall of the building towards where Craig was, moving through the darkness quietly. Bobby figured they were going to try and ambush her and began to struggle that much harder against the tape that bound him, but it was too late. Tony came up on Kim's right side and charged, knocking her to the floor.  
  
Jimmy had found a back entrance that was unlocked and conveniently enough the door being wide open. He waited till his eyes adjusted to the darkness before moving forwards. He saw the lights at the upper end of the warehouse on, but the lower half was completely dark. He slowly crept through the darkness when he saw a figure bound to a chair and assumed it was Bobby. When he was close enough he called out in a soft whisper to him to see if he was conscious.  
  
"Bobby!" he called out in a whisper.  
  
He heard someone calling his name but his neck was too sore to even turn to see who it was. He felt someone beginning to loosen the tape that bound his hands and legs to the chair. Jimmy began to talk softly to him but never got a response from him and stopped on the tape on his wrists and legs and loosened the gag in Bobby's mouth so he could speak.  
  
"Get Keira and get her out of here." Bobby whispered back.  
  
"Where is she?" Jimmy asked quietly.  
  
"In one of the back offices I think on the left side. I should be able to work the rest of the tape off on my own now." He said softly.  
  
"Ok, I'll get her and take her back to the car and stay with her." Jimmy said, getting up off his knees and heading for the baby.  
  
He headed back the way he came and checked the offices till he heard Keira whimpering softly in the darkness. He gently picked her up and covered her with a blanket and silently closed the door and headed outside to the car. After getting her put in the car seat, he turned on the heat since it had been rather cold inside the warehouse. He wanted to go back and free Bobby but couldn't leave the baby alone outside to go do it.  
  
Tony pinned Kim's wrists to the floor and held her down, out of view of Bobby. Marc was getting ready to hold down her legs, but when he dropped to his knees she placed a well-aimed kick in his face.  
  
"The bitch busted my nose!" Marc fumed, wiping at the blood pouring down his face.  
  
Tony moved to her left side and tried to hold both her arms and legs down but wasn't able to keep her still. She'd managed to get her right arm loose and punched Tony in the face. He let go of her momentarily and she was able to scurry out of his grasp and get to her feet. She backed against one of the far walls of the building. She couldn't run to her right because Tony had gotten up off the floor and was blocking that path. Craig was coming at her head on but Marc wasn't blocking her left side, giving her a path to escape. 


	91. Fire Unleashed

She turned and fled deeper into the building, into the darkness since Marc was still tending to his bleeding nose. She crouched behind a bunch of crates momentarily and thought she heard muffled cries coming from somewhere near where she was. Bobby heard fleeing footsteps and figured it was Kim. He tried to let her know where he was but everything leaving his mouth was muffled thanks to the gag. He'd almost freed his arms but stopped working the tape when he heard the footsteps. She craned her head towards the direction the sounds were coming from and peered into the darkness around her, hoping to be able to see where Bobby was.  
  
"Bobby," she whispered softly, listening for a reply.  
  
When she heard a muffled response she carefully began to move towards the sound and found him bound to the chair. She quickly removed the gag completely and whispered, "Are you ok?"  
  
"I'll be fine. Jimmy got Keira out of here so she's safe." He replied quietly as she began to undo the tape on his wrists and ankles.  
  
Bobby heard the three moving in their direction and said, "Go take cover. I'll take care of the rest of the tape."  
  
"I'm not leaving you here. I know what these lunatics are capable of." She whispered worriedly.  
  
Before Bobby could say anything, he saw Kim pulled backwards, away from him. Tony had figured that he'd look where Bobby was to see if she was there, and sure enough there she was crouched in front of him. He silently moved towards her, his massive hand grasping her by the back of the neck and pulling her back and up to her feet. A cry of surprise escaped her mouth when she felt his hand put a viselike grip on her and pull her away from Bobby. She struggled against the hold Tony had her in but the pressure that he was applying to her neck eventually caused her to stop fighting.  
  
"I should have known you'd be here." Tony snarled, pinning her against a stack of crates in the warehouse.  
  
Craig heard his words and called out, "You find her?"  
  
"Yeah, and she's not going anywhere either." He replied, imagining a look of infuriation was etched on Bobby's features.  
  
Craig and Marc moved towards them through the dark warehouse and Craig said, "Go get the kid."  
  
Marc nodded in reply and headed towards the offices close to the rear entrance. As he opened the door he heard nothing. No whimpers or crying, complete silence. He turned on the light in the small office and saw that she wasn't there and headed back out to where Craig was and said, "She's gone!"  
  
"How could you loose a baby you dumb ass rapscallion!" Craig roared in Marc's face, his voice echoing loudly through the warehouse.  
  
Tony looked at Kim menacingly and spun her around to where she was face to face with him.  
  
"What did you do with her?" he asked coldly, tightening his grip on her neck.  
  
"Nothing!" Kim replied bitterly, her neck aching from the grip he'd had on her but thanking Jimmy silently for getting her out of harms way.  
  
"I know you're lying to me! Where the hell is she!" Tony roared angrily at her.  
  
"She's somewhere safe away from you!" she yelled heatedly, knowing she'd probably pay for what she'd just said but didn't care.  
  
Bobby heard Craig yell, "Marc turn on the rest of the lights!" and saw him heading in the direction of Tony and Kim.  
  
Since no one had been paying attention to him, he'd taken the opportunity to free his legs since Kim had gotten the tape off his arms and wrists. Tony flung Kim to the floor and began to kick her in the ribs and stomach. She curled up trying to dodge his blows but it wasn't helping ward them off. When the lights came on he momentarily stopped and waited for his eyes to adjust to the newly lightened building. Kim lay trembling on the floor when she felt him stop kicking her and noticed lights had been turned on. As she opened her eyes, the light was blinding at first until her eyes became adjusted to it. She tried to inch away from Tony but the pain from where he'd kicked her was too immense and she couldn't move away.  
  
As soon as the lights were turned on, Jimmy noticed the light and figured something was up. He went back to the window and saw Craig pull a little black box from his pocket and press a single button on it. Jimmy watched as he poured what he assumed to be gasoline or some other kind of accelerant onto several boxes of dynamite and Marc did the same on the other side of the building. He raced back to the Explorer and grabbed his phone from the dashboard and paged Alex.  
  
Kim still was on the floor, her forehead resting against the cold concrete, trying to control her breathing where the pain was so immense. Each time she tried to breathe excruciating pain radiated through her. Tony had moved to where Marc and Craig were, keeping Craig from lighting into Marc over the baby being gone. She uncurled slightly but the movement was agonizing to her tender stomach after having been kicked repeatedly. She was starting to feel dizzy from where she was breathing so fast because of the pain and knew she had to stop and slow her breathing down because if she didn't she'd start to hyperventilate. It took everything she had to stay awake and force herself to slow her breathing down and gradually was able to start taking slow deep breaths and felt the dizziness going away but the pain was still unbearable.  
  
No one was paying attention to Bobby and he'd gotten up and found a pipe near by and picked it up. He didn't know where Tony had taken Kim to and slowly moved through the lit warehouse looking for her. He heard the angry shouts of Marc and Craig, and knew to stay away from them. Tony had gone back to where Kim was, standing over her sneering tauntingly at her.  
  
"Not so tough now are you?" he said menacingly, taking his foot and rolling her over onto her back, causing her to cry out in pain.  
  
Tony just stood there laughing, where as the grip Bobby had on the pipe he'd found grew tighter when he heard her pained cries. She had one arm wrapped protectively over her stomach as she lay on her back, forcing tears back from the pain that was coursing through her. Bobby cautiously moved towards where they were and saw the same person who'd stormed their apartment standing over her. He saw her face contort in pain each time she took a breath and figured that the son of a bitch standing over her was the cause of it. He moved cautiously towards them and when he was close enough, took the pipe and swung it as hard as he could, connecting with the guy's kidneys. Tony felt what appeared to be a pipe contact with his side right about the level of his waist. He turned around and saw it to be Bobby and glared at him for a moment.  
  
"Here to save her?" he asked tauntingly, glancing back at Kim on the ground.  
  
Tony figured since he'd taken him once he could do it again and moved forwards not caring that his opponent had a pipe. But this time however nothing could stop Bobby. Just looking at this guy enraged him, especially since he was the one who'd stormed into their apartment, kidnapping him and Keira, but adding more fuel to the fire was what he'd done to Kim. As soon as Tony was away from Kim he swung the pipe again connecting with the guy's stomach and then in the back of the legs causing him to crumple to the ground. With him stunned on the ground he rushed over to Kim to see if she was ok.  
  
"Kimmy are you ok?" he asked, kneeling on the ground next to her.  
  
She shook her head no and said, "It hurts to breathe."  
  
Bobby looked at the massive bruising on her stomach from where Tony had kicked her and said softly, "I know, we'll be out of here soon."  
  
He went to help her to stand when he heard Craig shout, "I hope you all like it in hell because it won't be long now!"  
  
Several minutes later the first container of gasoline soaked dynamite exploded around them. Bobby moved to cover Kim the best he could, since he wasn't sure where the explosion had come from. After the roar of the explosion had subsided he got up and picked her up off the floor and put her down on her feet since it would probably be easier than her trying to stand on her own with the bruising on her stomach.  
  
"Come on Kimmy, we've got to get out of here." He said quickly, making sure she was ok before they began to move through the now burning building.  
  
Alex was talking to the group around the table at the firehouse when the pager began to dance across the hard wood table. At first she stared at it briefly before grabbing it and looking at the number illuminated on the view screen.  
  
"That was Jimmy! Let's go!" she yelled, rushing for the stairs. 


	92. Twilight and Shadow

Jimmy cursed under his breath when he heard the first of many massive explosions come from inside the building. He prayed that Kim and Bobby made it out ok. He could hear the wail of the sirens as the crew from the house and the precinct neared where they were, he could only hope that no other large explosions came. The sound from the explosion was enough to cause Keira to start to cry and he did everything he could to calm her down, as he watched in the distance as the trucks approached the warehouse.  
  
Together the two of them slowly made their way through the building, more explosives detonating around them as they moved. Marc blocked their path and sneered at them after having gotten his nose to stop bleeding.  
  
"Leaving so soon? Things are just starting to heat up." He said mockingly.  
  
Bobby went to haul off and let him have it when Kim stopped him.  
  
"Wait!" she said, glaring at Marc.  
  
Bobby turned and looked at her an expression of pure surprise written clearly on his face at her request. He began to move towards him once more when Kim said once more, "Bobby! Stop."  
  
He went to say something when she cut him off and hissed menacingly, "His ass is mine!"  
  
Despite the pain in her stomach and chest she decked Marc with a right hook in the stomach and face, causing him to sink to the ground. It took everything she had not to cry out in pain when she hit him. But she finally had remembered where she'd seen him from and put his face to the voice who'd threatened her about hurting her family and wasn't going to let anything stop her from exacting her revenge on him for his remarks. Explosives were even rigged on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the warehouse, which had begun to detonate. Marc had managed to drag himself up from the floor and charged at Bobby, knocking him to ground. The two wrestled around for a bit before Bobby knocked Marc off him and got up and looked for Kim since he didn't see her near by.  
  
"Kim!" he called out, looking around where he last saw her before Marc tackled him.  
  
Another sick and twisted laugh resonated through the burning building.  
  
"What are you going to do Bobby? Save yourself or save your precious wife?" Craig taunted.  
  
Bobby followed Craig's voice and found Kim about five feet away with a gash on the side of her head, probably from a piece of falling debris. She was lying on the floor and he noticed a large circle of some kind of liquid around her with Craig standing near by holding a lighter ready to drop instantly.  
  
"What's it gonna be?" Craig sneered.  
  
Bobby knew there was no way in hell he was leaving her in here. Not even thinking of his own safety, he ran towards her and scooped her up off the floor just as Craig dropped the lighter igniting the ring of liquid on the floor. Kim had begun to come to, finding herself in Bobby's arms. She looked around and saw the ring of fire surrounding them.  
  
"Can you stand?" he asked, concern entering his voice.  
  
"Yeah," she replied as he carefully put her down.  
  
"Got any ideas on how to get out of here." He asked, their backs pressed against the wall of the warehouse.  
  
Kim looked around and surveyed the situation around them and said, "I hate to say this, but the only way I'm seeing is through the fire. If only some how we could get the flames to die down."  
  
All of a sudden another massive explosion went off on the 3rd floor of the warehouse and a portion of the roof was starting to give because of the heat from the fires burning inside. Bobby heard the groan of the roof as it started to fatigue under the heat and couldn't tell where it was going to fall. They scanned the ceiling and saw the section that was starting to give and knew it would be a matter of time before it would come crashing to the ground. Jimmy heard the sounds of the roof starting to fatigue and turned to look at the flaming building, nervousness building wondering if they were ok. The roof continued to give till a portion of it collapsed to the ground. The force that it slammed into the concrete created a strong gust of wind that blew the flames down to a point to where they could escape without receiving serious burns. He picked her up and quickly moved through the temperate flames, blocking out the searing pain from the minor burns he'd gotten. As soon as they were clear of the fire he put her down and she immediately asked, "Are you ok?", noticing his pained expression.  
  
"Let's worry about getting out of here first." He replied, grasping her hand in his and moving towards the entrance.  
  
Together they headed quickly towards the remaining entrance, when Marc grabbed a hold of her ankle. She took her free foot and kicked him hard in the stomach and groin, causing him to release the hold he had on her. As they continued on to the remaining exit Craig stood blocking their path.  
  
"Very heroic Bobby." He said mockingly; "Too bad one of you isn't going to make it out of here alive."  
  
He pulled a small gun out from his pocket and aimed it at them, a rancorous grin spreading across his face as he said viciously, "I'm savoring the pairing of hope in your heart just as I will enjoying bearing witness to the destruction of that hope."  
  
Without hesitation, Kim moved in front of Bobby and locked eyes with Craig, seeming oblivious to the fact that he was holding a gun.  
  
Alex and the crew from the station had arrived within minutes. Faith and Kevin went to stay with Keira so Jimmy could help Alex and the guys. He grabbed his turnout gear Alex had brought and quickly put it on and began to move cautiously towards the entrance.  
  
"How long has Kim been in there?" Alex asked worriedly.  
  
"About 30 minutes." He called back to her.  
  
Meanwhile back inside the burning warehouse, Craig had the gun pointed at Kim and sneered, "You really are a foolish woman, you know that."  
  
"No, I beg your pardon I'm not. When I said I'd give my life to make sure my husband and kids were safe, I wasn't joking." Kim said with defiance, never taking her eyes off of Craig.  
  
"Why would you choose that route instead of living and being with me?" he asked curiously, his aim never wavering as he spoke.  
  
"If I've learned anything from what you've put me through, you're obsessive. You would never allow me to see them again. At least in death I could still protect and watch over them." She replied, feeling Bobby squeeze her hand as she spoke.  
  
"¿Qué hace usted?" he asked nervously, when Craig turned to talk to Marc briefly. {What are you doing?}  
  
"Yo've obtuvo un plan, apenas juego por." she replied confidently. {I've got a plan, just play along.}  
  
He sure hoped she knew what she was doing, but put his faith and trust in her to get them out of this alive.  
  
"Anything you want to say to her Bobby?" Craig asked somewhat impatiently.  
  
He never answered Craig, but turned her around and kissed her lovingly. As they pulled back she whispered, "Cuándo yo lo golpeé, obtiene el fusil." and then kissed him deeply in return. {When I hit him, get the gun.}  
  
He knew Craig was watching what was going on and had to make things believable and had to make him think he was actually saying goodbye to her. Somehow he'd managed to get a few tears to slip down his face to make the moment seem as realistic as he could. He quietly whispered, "Yo lo amo Kimmy." noticing Craig moving towards them. {I love you Kimmy.}  
  
"Yo lo amo Bobby demasiado." she replied, gently wiping the tears from his face with her hands. {I love you too Bobby.}  
  
Craig strode towards them and said sharply, "Times up" and put a hand on Kim's left shoulder and pulled her away from Bobby.  
  
Spanish Translations  
  
~~~  
  
¿Qué hace usted? ~ What are you doing?  
  
Yo've obtuvo un plan, apenas juego por. ~ I've got a plan, just play along.  
  
Cuándo yo lo golpeé, obtiene el fusil. ~ When I hit him, get the gun.  
  
Yo lo amo Kimmy. ~ I love you Kimmy.  
  
Yo lo amo Bobby demasiado. ~ I love you too Bobby. 


	93. Phantom Stranger

The instant she felt his hand on her shoulder, she whirled around and decked him in the jaw, forcing back a cry of pain as her fist connected with its target. Bobby grabbed the arm that held the gun and sent the gun spiraling out of his grasp onto the floor, and kicking it out of reach of both Marc and Craig.  
  
"Afraid to die?" Craig taunted menacingly at her.  
  
"No, I am not afraid. For one simple reason." She replied firmly.  
  
"Which is?" Craig asked in question.  
  
"Death is no respecter of persons. If it were my time, I wouldn't fight it. But I know it is not my name that's being called, it's yours!" she hissed, seeing the look of rage cross Craig's features at her words.  
  
Her words infuriated Craig and he lunged at the pair that was standing a few feet away. They'd strategically positioned themselves near a gasoline soaked box of dynamite. So when Craig charged at them, he'd hit the box and send it flying into the flames. True to what they'd planned out, Craig wasn't able to slow his momentum down and knocked the box into the flames and the two of them took cover as the box exploded, raining fiery pieces of debris down around them. Craig couldn't move out of the way fast enough and was knocked back across the warehouse from the shockwave of the blast into two unopened barrels of gasoline. The impact of his body slamming into the barrels caused them to rupture and leak gasoline onto the floor.  
  
He sat stunned as the gasoline soaked through his clothing and began to run like small creeks across the concrete floor in various directions. Another large explosion ruptured on the 2nd floor of the warehouse, flaming debris cascaded throughout the room, landing dangerously close to the gasoline which streamed from Craig's clothing. As the gasoline finally reached the debris it quickly ignited the gasoline. Craig was instantly engulfed in flames as the gasoline caught fire. Milliseconds later, the barrels of gasoline exploded into flames, sending the vile excuse of a human being to his demise in almost a just manner so to speak. How could he have expected to go after all the pain he caused other. He learned his lesson from the saying 'Do unto others as you wish done upon you'.  
  
Keira began to cry once more when another large explosion tore through the building, blowing out several windows.  
  
"Sssh, its ok sweetie. Your parents are coming sweetheart." Faith said softly picking her up out of the car seat.  
  
After a few minutes of gently bouncing her on her knee, she hadn't calmed down and she Faith spotted the diaper bag sitting in the floor. She reached and got a bottle out of the bag to see if she was hungry. That must have been what she wanted because as soon as she saw the bottle she stopped crying. Keira held the bottle on her own and contently drank, while she observed the flurry of activity that was taking place around her. Faith heard someone call her name and turned to see who it was.  
  
"Faith!" Bosco called, jogging towards her; "Is the baby ok?"  
  
"She's fine. Just wanted a bottle that's all." She replied as Bosco stood next to her watching her briefly before responding.  
  
"She worried me there for a second when I heard her start to cry." He said back to her.  
  
"Bos, kids will cry if they want something, especially at this age." She replied, having raised two kids of her own she's pretty muchly knew what to do to calm her down.  
  
Tony managed to flee from the burning building, but in his haste to get away he plowed right into Jimmy as he made it outside, knocking him onto his back on the snowy ground. He didn't even bother to stop running but kept on, not wanting to stick around this place any longer. Ty began chasing the man who'd just fled from the building who wasn't heeding any warning to stop. He along with everyone else wanted to know who he was and what role he played in the events that had unfolded that night.  
  
"Hey man! Stop! We just want to talk to you!" Ty shouted as he gained on the fleeing person.  
  
"Like hell you just want to talk!" Tony hissed to himself as he turned down an alley about five blocks away.  
  
"Where on earth does this guy think he's going?" Ty said aloud as he took the same path as the runner in front of him had taken.  
  
Tony continued running till he was forced to come to a halt when he came to the end of a dead end alley.  
  
"Damn it! Why the hell did I turn down this alley if it was a dead end." Tony fumed under his breath as he turned around to start running the way he'd come till he saw Ty come around the corner.  
  
The alley was darkened with no light shining from the streetlights so he took out his flashlight and aimed it in the man's direction.  
  
"Why'd you run? All I wanted to do is talk to you about the fire you just left from." Ty said, making a mental note of the mans apparent nervous posture.  
  
Tony wasn't about ready to spill the beans about the real reason he was there and quickly made up a story to satisfy the officer's questions.  
  
"Well, I was just walking by when I heard a large explosion come from the warehouse and heard people screaming. All I wanted to do was see what I could do to help get anyone who was alive out, but it was too late. Those inside were already dead from the fire." Tony replied sounding sympathetic as he spoke; "I had no choice but to run for my life or else I would have met the same fate as the poor souls trapped in the warehouse."  
  
"Was it smoke inhalation that killed those inside?" Ty asked.  
  
"No, it was the flames. It completely surrounded them till they were trapped and had no place to go. I can still see the faces of those caught in it distorted in pain as the fire closed in on them. I tried to help them but I couldn't so I had to save myself before I joined them." Tony replied.  
  
"Can you recall how many bodies you saw?" Ty said, hoping the people this guy was talking about weren't Kim and Bobby.  
  
"At least 2. There could have been more further back in the warehouse but there was no way I could get farther back to look for anyone else." Tony said back in response, starting to get tired of playing twenty questions with the police officer.  
  
Ty went to radio the info about the confirmed bodies to Sully so he could pass it along to Jimmy and the rest of the firefighters.  
  
"Hey Sul, tell Jimmy and the guys that there are at least two confirmed bodies inside the warehouse that's on fire." He said through the radio.  
  
"You finally catch the runner?" Sully asked back, looking over at the firefighters spraying water on the roof and through the broken windows trying to contain the blaze as Jimmy and Alex prepared to go in.  
  
"Yeah I did." Ty replied, keeping an eye on Tony as he relayed info to his partner.  
  
"Could he tell whether the bodies were male or female?" Sully asked.  
  
"No, he didn't say." Ty said in response.  
  
"Ok, I'll pass the message on to Jimmy and the guys. Bring the guy back incase we have to have him tell us an approximate location of where the bodies were or ask him any other questions." Sully replied, moving towards where the firefighters were.  
  
"We'll be there shortly," Ty said back, as he began to move towards the guy he'd chased down.  
  
When he'd turned his full attention to Tony again he said, "I'm afraid I'll need you to come back to the scene incase we need you to help locate where the bodies were." Ty said, while clipping his radio back onto his shoulder.  
  
Tony knew that if he refused to go it would make him look guilty as sin. The two walked on foot back to the location of the warehouse that was now about four blocks away. On their way back, the radiant orange glow cast off by the fire illuminated the sky as billowing smoke rose into the night.  
  
Jimmy and Alex had proceeded into the almost fully involved warehouse, praying that their two colleagues were ok.  
  
"Who was that guy that ran into you?" Alex asked as she looked around at the fire surrounding them literally.  
  
"From what Ty told Sully, the guy supposedly showed up to try and help out. But I never saw another person here till you all showed up." Jimmy replied, scanning the fire covered building.  
  
"You think he was in on this with Craig then?" Alex asked.  
  
"He had to have been in on it with him because there wasn't another soul here other than me." Jimmy said in response.  
  
Alex found one of the first bodies, charred beyond recognition but the facials that the skull was frozen at was enough to tell what had happened.  
  
"Hey Jimmy, I've got a body over here!" she shouted.  
  
Jimmy headed towards where Alex was crouched next to the charred remains as the loud groan of fatiguing metal reverberated through the warehouse.  
  
"This building is going to go soon, we've got to hurry and find them." Jimmy said, scanning the rest of the warehouse.  
  
Ty and Tony arrived back at the scene and headed towards Sully when the unexpected began to happen. As Tony looked at the raging inferno he'd fled from, watching the flames dance through the broken windows, strange voices began to fill his head. An evil cackle filled his head as a corrupt voice said in an iniquitous tone, "Why'd you run Tony? Don't you want to join us!"  
  
"What the hell!" Tony said silently, not knowing where these voices were coming from.  
  
The voices kept getting louder and louder and more commanding, to the point to where he thought his head was going to explode. Tony finally recognized the voice and in shock screamed to himself, "Marc? What in the hell are you doing to me!"  
  
"Just making you pay for not following through with our plan!" the voice replied menacingly.  
  
Next thing Tony knew he saw another explosion and through one side of the building, appeared Marc, floating eerily above the ground with flames surrounding him.  
  
"This can't be happening to me!" Tony screamed as he watched Marc moving towards him.  
  
He watched as Marc held out what remained of his right hand as a ball of fire formed, floating right above where the palm of his hand would be. A boned finger with bits of flesh hanging from it motioned for Tony to come towards him but out of fear and confusion he didn't move an inch.  
  
"Come on Tony, you think your own friend would hurt you?" The hallucination taunted.  
  
"Leave me the hell alone!" Tony shouted as the ball of fire that was once floating in Marc's hand was hurled right at him.  
  
In a spectacular explosion the fireball blew up, sending small fiery fragments in his direction and causing him to catch on fire.  
  
Ty was talking to some of the other cops not to far away when he heard the man scream something and immediately turned and headed back to where he was.  
  
"Hey man, you ok?" Ty asked noticing the panicked look on his face.  
  
Tony watched the sleeves of his shirt and pants catch on fire and began to howl in pain, and tried to put out the flames. He looked up at Marc's now charred hand as reached for him. The bony hands in a formation like he was going to strangle him.  
  
"I'm on fire! Please help me!" Tony begged as he batted at the flames trying to extinguish them.  
  
"Sir calm down. You're fine. You aren't on fire." Ty said calmly trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
In another explosion a horde of pink rabbits came pouring out of a hole in the side of a building. A look of horror crossed Tony's face as he saw them coming at him, some carrying chainsaws, machine guns, pointy knives and ones with whips wearing leather outfits, all having the same devilous look on the furry faces. The rampaging horde of rabbits surrounded Marc as if they were his followers and he sent two of them towards Tony. In an instant he let loose a blood curdling scream as he watched one of the rabbits begin to pull out his intestines while the other rabbit began to eat it as if it were a piece of sausage. A thoroughly panicked Tony whirled and grabbed Ty's gun and began to start shooting at the two rabbits in front of him and then began aiming at Marc and sea of pink rabbits beside the flaming building.  
  
"Why don't you just fucking die!" Tony screamed unloading round after round at Marc.  
  
His sinister laugh filled the area and said, "Too late my friend, I'm already dead and soon you shall be too!"  
  
As flames poured through the whole in the side of the warehouse another pink rabbit emerged from the building, but began to grow in size to the point where it was gigantic. As it stood on it's hind feet, the muscles which at first were minute became more pronounced and toned till it took on a heavily muscled appearance. This rabbit however wasn't like the others. Its head was nothing but a skull with sharp teeth and instead of eyes resting in the occipital sockets, balls of fire were housed there. In its pawed hand, it held a battle-axe with a pike and on the end of it rested the head of Craig. The head was screaming at Tony incoherently, as blood began to pour out from his eyes, mouth, ears as well as from the jagged serrations on his neck.  
  
Tony then turned the gun towards the massive mutant rabbit he was seeing and began to unload the rounds once more. The bullets hardly seemed to phase the monster as it moved forward to where the shots were coming from. It's fiery eyes locked on to Tony and it's mouth curved into a sinister grin as an apocalyptic battle cry erupted from within its throat and resonated through the area. Ty was at a complete loss for words at what was going on with this guy and tried to get him to stop firing. Luckily no one was in the area of where he was firing the gun so no one was in danger, unless a bullet would ricochet.  
  
"Sir, put the gun down. Everything is going to be fine." Ty said, cautiously moving towards the obviously shaken man.  
  
Tony began to wave the gun around dangerously and screamed aloud, "No everything won't be ok!"  
  
"Why don't you tell me what's going on? Maybe we can all work this out peacefully." Ty suggested, seeing the other officers on the scene preparing to take the offensive incase things got further out of control.  
  
"The son of a bitch made me help him with his cousin's plan. I didn't want to but I had no choice!" Tony replied angrily, as he then began to shout at the hallucination of Marc.  
  
Inside the burning warehouse Alex and Jimmy jumped at the sound of the gunshots being fired outside the building, and got as low to the ground as they could to avoid being hit incase a bullet would come through a window or something.  
  
"What in the hell is going on out there?" Alex asked.  
  
"I don't know, but I hope it resolves fast because we can't stay in here forever till they settle down, that's for sure." Jimmy replied, accidentally stumbling over another set of charred remains.  
  
As he prepared to radio to D.K that they'd found two bodies he heard Alex yell out to him and move quickly forwards. He rushed after her to see what she'd found, waiting to radio to D.K after he knew what Alex had found. 


End file.
